UlquiorraxOrihime: Love is Blind
by LateNightWrite
Summary: An Espada as empty inside as Ulquiorra couldn't possibly show compassion. That was before he met Orihime, who's heart was as full as any human's.
1. Chapter 1: The uninvited

"Kurosaki-Kun! Kurosaki-KUN! he's too strong you can't win, losing your life over mine, NO kurosaki-kun!"

Orihime Inoue awoke from her night terror with sweat dripping off her brow. Her eyes were widened by her fear of ever seeing Kurosaki-kun lose in a battle that was solely fought for her rescue.

Even in her dreams the pain she felt was real. Sometimes she could awake with the faint hint of his reiatsu on her finger tips, feeling this comfort she would squeeze her hands together tightly. Holding these moments near to her heart.

"You're there Kurosaki-Kun, I know it"

"Ahhh, so ya know where tha lil prick is?"

Nnoitra stood in the doorway peaking through the crack into Orihime's room. He used his zanpaktou to prop the door open a little more, than slammed it to the side and slowly entered the room. Looking around, he was taking in the atmosphere of the princess's quarters when he noticed a stunned Orihime trying to understand what would make him stop by. He walked over to her and stood above her as menacing as ever. He decided he would rather play with a friend's pet than just go for an easy kill.

"Nice digs ya got pet, wondering why i stopped by?"

"Nnoitra-sama.. di.. did Ulquiorra send you here?"

"I heard ya screaming down the hall, wanted to see what all this racket was"

"I'm sorry Nnoitra-sama"

"Nnoitra-SAMA?" Nnoitra walks over to Orihime and smiles his toothy grin as he grabs her chin with his free hand. "Seems to me i should be Nnoitra-kun, or do you think that weak piece of shit Kurosaki is better than me?"

Orihime was terrified clutching her dress with both hands; in a place like this a slip of the tongue could lead to the slit of the throat. She sat up off the couch and made her way over to the door, an invitation she was praying someone even as unkind as Nnoitra would understand.

"I.. I am not worth your time Nnoitra-sama"

"HA you aren't worth any of our time, yet here you sit pretty as a princess" He didn't move, and her heart's beating grew to an even faster pace.

"Ulquiorra-sama will be bringing my food soon, he doesn't like visitors without him her-"

"AH SHUT IT, the pet listens to her master"

"Yes, but Ulquiorra-sama and Lord Aizen-sama are my masters."

Nnoitra frowning at the ground now, hunched over on the couch, drew lines with his sword on the stone floor creating an awful screeching sound. He lifted his head up to face Orihime with a displeased look on his face.

"Chh..You got me beginning to think you haven't learned your place yet, spoiled, ungrateful, lil PET" Nnoitra lunges towards Orihime his hand outstretched to go for her throat, he won't kill her just give her some bruises on that neck of hers to remember him by. Orihime standing there helpless closes her eyes wailing out a name that she has called out hundreds of times before, without seeing her savior's face yet. "**KUROSAKI-KUN**!"


	2. Hardly a Hero

Chapter 2 Hardly a Hero

"Enough."

The silver blade's point hits Nnoitora's centre palm and sends a small trickle of blood down his hand.

"EH, Ulqi.. Ulqiorra watcha doing back here, and drawin' your sword?" Nnoitora was frightened at first at Ulqiorra's sudden appearance but regained his composure as quickly as he pulled his hand away from Ulqiorra's zanpaktou.

"The intruders are still roaming around Las Noches, of course my sword will be drawn"

"I ain't no intruder there pal"

"An intruder is someone who is where they do not belong, should you be here?"

"Eyy, the door was open and that lil pet.. she was screaming like a newborn.. i was just checkin on her"

"I see, and now that you see she is unharmed?"

"I'm outta here, oh great and powerful masta Ulqiorra" With this Nnoitora makes a show to Orihime mocking her blind allegiance to a man who would kill her just as fast as himself. Maybe even quicker.

Ulqiorra ignores him and stands beside the open door as Nnoitora leaves. As Nnoitora walks out of the room he pauses just outside the hall and turns around to lick the blood from his wound that is now letting small drops of blood drip onto the tiled floor.

"Keep calling for that boyfriend of yours, then when the bastard shows up i'll slice his head right off." Nnoitora begins to chuckle and than uproariously laughing, he exits Orihimes chambers with nothing but a look of shear terror left on her face. A terror he loved bringing out in even the weakest of opponents.

"Thank.. Thank you Ulqiorra-sama" Orihime walked back over to the couch. She needed to sit down after what she had just witnessed. Did Ulqiorra just really stand up for her?

No. he wasn't protecting me, just the wishes of Lord Aizen.

That's all he'll ever protect.

"Were you hurt?"

"No"

"You left your door open and screamed out for Kurosaki Ichigo, did you hope he would hear you?"

"No.. I was sleeping I didn't know what i was saying"

"If you are going to make so much noise in your sleep, i would suggest you close your door"

"Yes, i will Ulqiorra-sama"

"Good."

The conversation was kept short and Ulqiorra made sure he kept the power in it. She doesn't have the freedom to move around Las Noches, why should she be granted the freedom of speech.

"You will sleep now."

A tiered and torn Orihime looked up at him and shook her head "No.. i don't want to I'm not in"

Ulqiorra briefly released huge amounts of reatsu and Orihime fell unconcious. Ulquiorra caught her head and layed it down on the coach. Her eyes were now shut, but the look of pain did not leave her face.

What causes this pain? he thought to himself.

It must be this Ichigo Kurosaki she calls out for, how unrewarding. She only causes herself more suffering since him and his friends will never make it here, alive.

Ulqiorra exits the room turning once more to look at the sad state of Orihime Inoue.

She draws strength from her weakness. Hope will never get her what she wants. 


	3. Dreams Darker then the Night Sky

"I'm here Inoue, I'm here to rescue you"

"Kurosaki-kun, you're all cut up, you shouldn't have come for me, please don't sacrifice yourself for me!"

"I knew this fight wouldn't be easy, but it would be much harder to lose you Inoue"

Blushing, tears begin to well up in Orihime's eyes "Thank you so much, Kurosaki-kun"

Just as Orihime reaches out to Ichigo her wrist is grabbed and held back from reaching her rescuer.

"LE..LET ME GO!" Orihime turns around to face her attacker and sees nothing but a giant shadow of black with highlights of green. From this darkness two huge wings spread out and then close trapping herself and Ichigo. The darkness consumes them both and her fingertips just outreach those of Ichigo's. She screams out his name but his eyes become lifeless and she watches as he sinks into the sea of shadows.

"KUROSAKI-KUN!" "KUROSAKI-KUN!" Orihime is sobbing as Ichigo sinks into an abyss of nothingness, she than feels the shadows begin to consume her as well. She is sinking. Sinking fast and without anyone to hold on to. "KUROSAKI-KUN, please save me!"

Suddenly a haunting voice enters this nightmarish scene, calling out to her, taunting her. "Did you hope he would hear you?" The darkness than consumes her up to her grey sparkling eyes whose glimmer begins to fade as she is dragged into the black unknown.

"Wake up." Ulquiorra is standing at the door, unsure of Orihime Inoue's state of mind as she is now on the floor struggling and in an obvious state of distress.

"Woman, i said wake up" Ulqiorra walks over to Orihime and grabs her wrist. Awaking her from yet another night terror with tears in her eyes, she stares at Ulqiorra feeling the pressure of his grip on her wrist.

"LET GO!" Flustered Orihime looks around trying to determine how she could have ended up in this embarrassing situation of scrambling around on the floor. She must have fallen off the couch in her dream, sunken down to the floor as she had felt herself sinking into those shadows.

"Very well" Ulqiorra drops her wrist and stands up leaving the woman still on the ground trying to regain her composure.

"Dreams cause humans to do foolish things, in reality and in slumber" He began to walk towards the door, but turned around and headed towards the window instead.

"Do you dream of your rescue?"

"Wh..what?"

"Do you dream of a reunion with your friends, one without casualties or injury, no harm done to your rescuers?"

Orihime looked at Ulqiorra whose eyes were testing her and judging her. He would not get the response he wanted to hear from her. She would not give him the benefit of tearing down another one of her hopes of seeing her friends, Rukia, Chad, Uryu, Renji and Ichigo again. She would starve him of the satisfaction of proving she was wrong, foolish and pathetic.

"No. I only dream for Lord Aizen-sama"

"What would a man as great and powerful as Lord Aizen-sama gain from your dreams?"

"I dream for his well being and.." She gulped tasting the lies on her tongue.

"I dream for his success."


	4. Smile

"She dreams for my success? What a kind girl" Aizen-sama looked contently out on to the sandy dunes of Las Noches.

"You don't think she was lying?" Ulqiorra is sitting on a white chair facing adjacently to the balcony Sosuke Aizen looked out on to. He decided to report to him of Orihime's eccentric behaviour.

"I know she was lying, but it is that lie that proves she is willing to obey us"

"Out of fear?"

"Out of naivety, that young woman is hoping by showing us allegiance we will show her friends mercy"

"That's absurd, she's very irrational"

One beat.

"Lord Aizen-sama, say the intruders do make it to her... what do you think she would do?"

"As you say Ulqiorra, dreams cause humans to do foolish things"

"Yes my lord" Ulqiorra rose from his seat and began to exit the room.

"Thank you for reporting in with me Ulqiorra, you're loyalty is unfathomable"

"I live to serve you lord Aizen-sama" with his final words to his master, Ulqiorra leaves Aizen alone once again.

"I'm coming in now"

Ulqiorra entered the room which was missing something that made him almost questioning his eyes which see everything,

Where was Orihime Inoue?

"Woman, where are you?" No sound was made in response to his question. He walked in further, not afraid of a surprise attack but after the conversation he had had with Lord Aizen he still stepped in with caution.

Impossible, she couldn't have escaped without my knowledge she wasn't in the physical or mental state to run away.

He then heard a line of short breaths followed with a small wimper. He walked further into the room to see the sad sight of Orihime Inoue sitting there, head in her knees sobbing like a lost child.

Ulqiorra bent down on to one knee and looked at the young woman deeply in the eyes. Her tears began to fall and she sniffled and tried to hold back the emotional burdens hanging on her shoulders. It was too much. This was all too much for one girl to go through with just the memory of faces of friends to keep her going.

"I want.. it back, all of it, Give me back my life" Ulqiorra stared at her, not moving a muscle and waiting for Orihime to finish her foolish emotional breakdown.

"I can't sleep, i dream of horrible situations filled with despair, and blood and death all for me, I shouldn't be here. Is this, is this the burden Kuchiki-san felt when we came to Soul Society? Is this the pain she had to endure!" Orihime was sobbing now not even caring her emotionless caretaker was seated right beside her. Hearing every word of defeat that passed her lips, every word brought out all of the fear that had been resonating in her soul to the surface.

_A lack of sleep most likely caused this, I'm not here to comfort her, but I can't leave her so.. broken._

Ulqiorra calmly rose to his feet with Orihime looking up at him with sad eyes.

"What ar.. what are you doing?"

"Lie down."

Orihime was in no condition to refuse his orders so she unsteadily rose to her feet and laid herself down on the couch. It was hard, and uncomfortable but better than hunching over her knees on the cold, tiled floor.

"I will return, do not move woman" Ulqiorra using his sonido for the first time in front of Orihime was gone before she even opened her eyes.

"Ulqiorra-sama?" _He's gone, no comfort he could bring me would ever stop this pain. _

_**WAIT**__, Ulqiorra bringing me comfort? I can't be so overtired and desperate to think that Ulqiorra.. is even thinking of me._

Orihime turns around to face the back of the couch and drifts off to sleep. Before long she is in a deep slumber, hopefully one that will be without terror.

Ulqiorra uses his sonido to re-enter the room with a long, white blanket with black threading. He looks down at Orihime and realizes she had already fallen asleep without the item he thought would bring her enough comfort to get her to finally sleep without any commotion.

"Do you ever listen to me, woman?" Taking the blanket, he places it over her shivering body and feels a tingle near his mouth. His thin white lips perk slightly upwards into a non-chill ant grin.

_A smile, this is all it makes a human feel? Such an expression is overused if this is all you feel.._

He looked down to see a rarity as of late, Orihime Inoue herself was smiling.

_Yet, when it is shared with someone else a completely new sensation arises._

"I see."

Ulqiorra makes his way over to the door and opens it, trying not to let too much light from the hallway enter the room. Leaving the sleeping beauty rest he begins to walk out of Orihime's room.

"Goodnight, Ulqiorra-sama"

Ulqiorra eyes widen and he simply nods as he exits the room

"Yes, Orihime"


	5. A Weak Spot

"He got her a what?" Gin Ichimaru was stunned as he sat down on a sleek white chair in one of the many rooms in Las Noches.

Lord Aizen and Gin were discussing the behaviour of Ulquiorra who was usually so cold and empty it was hard to believe he was once human at all. Aizen sat on his throne just a metre or two away from Gin as he thought of his espada's actions.

"Looks like our girl can melt even the coldest of hearts, isn't that right Aizen-sama?"

Aizen looked over to Gin smirking as he unsheathed his zanpaktou.

"What if we tested the lengths in which Ulquiorra was willing to go for this girl.."

"Are you sure Kyoka Suigetsu is needed in this kinda situation?"

Aizen looks at the blade studying the shape of it, the green and gold detailing of the hilt, and the reflected faces in it's shine of all the lives he had ruined to fufill his own ambitions.

"Do you think im selfish Gin?"

Gin's constant grin grew into a full sinister smile as he opened his piercing red eyes and looked at Aizen straight on.

"Just never lose a use for me, that'll keep ya from gettin' too greedy"

Aizen smiled and let out a low and short laugh. "Would you be surprised if I told you I supported Ulqiorra showing an interest in Orihime, an interest other then what I have ordered him to do?"

"Ya haven't surprised me yet Aizen-sama, I mighta been your subordinate but I was a boy genious.. one who managed to be at the other end of your sword I might add"

"Captain Histugaya? if only Ulquiorra could show the same compassion he does towards those he cares about most... Orihime wouldn't be just a weak spot for the Ryoka boy anymore.."

Aizen sheathed his sword and passed Gin as he exited the room. He placed his hand on Gin's shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

Gin opened his eyes again reaching for his zanpaktou, Shinso ,and began rocking the hilt back and forth.

"See Aizen, you aren't selfish one bit, giving me such a **FUN** job"

"I thought you might like it Gin, don't do any permanent damage?" Aizen said so casually it really didn't seem as if he gave a damn one war or the other.

"Putting rules on my game?" Gin started to frown "Well that certainly is cruel of you"

Aizen grinned menacingly one last time looking at Gin before leaving the room. "

Gin exits through the large entrance way into the brightly lit hall with white walls and a navy blue tiled floor. He walks down the hall humming to himself with his hands crossed behind his back. He suddenly stops realizing he has arrived at his destination.

"Boy that was quicker then I thought.."

Someone appears behind him sensing their reiatsu he knows who it is immediatly. Without turning around or losing his composure he simply speaks to his pursuer without so much as giving them a turn of his head.

"Yo, what can i do for ya Ichimaru-sama?"

"You like games right..."

"Nnoitora."


	6. A Foreshadowing for the Fourth

Chapter 6

"You're in a rush today, Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow Jaegerjaques stopped Ulquiorra as he smiled at him showing his teeth. "I don't sense that kid's reiatsu anywhere in that direction, so why the hell are you in such a hurry?"

Ulquiorra had been rushing his duties ever since that night with Orihime, er.. the woman, Lord Aizen's prisoner, his prisoner. Although Grimmjow annoyed the hell out of him he wasn't about to engage with an espada chosen obviously for their destructive behaviour and blood lust.

"You look for the intruders, I have the prisoner to look after. I know it's a rarity for you, but following Lord Aizen's orders is our first priority."

"I'm following orders you idiot, by eliminating the threat! Just think soon enough that woman might not be needed anymore!"

"AHAHAHAH" Grimmjow started to laugh and then threw his head back looking up to the sky putting his hand over his eyes to shade them from the bright sun.

"You'll be the one asked to get rid of her too! Don't get too attached ya dumbass" He was laughing, knowing he had pissed off his rival.

Ulquiorra had started to walk away when Grimmjow was laughing like an idiot but turned around when he heard the espada mention his attachment to Orihime Inoue.

Ulquiorra used his sonido to be right infront of Grimmjow, his hand was placed firmly on his throat as Grimmjow was caught off guard still engulfed in the hilarity of his own joke.

"What if i severed the attachment of your head from your shoulders"

"Bite me!" Grimmjow slapped away Ulquiorra's hand turned around swiftly and left with his hands in his pockets. He walked away back indoors of the Las Noches palace leaving Ulquiorra alone on the balcony overlooking the sandy dunes of their sanctuary. Ulquiorra looked into the bright sunshine which filled the blue skies with a heavenly glow.

_Maybe, the woman would calm down if she she saw sunshine, it could strengthen her trust in us... and her faith in me._

"Yes, she will like it" Ulquiorra began to smile, a habit he had recently adopted from Orihime.

"LIKE WHAT? UUULLQUIORRRRA!" A sudden fist bashed Ulquiorra in the head knocking him face first into the ground. He looked up to see the blurry shadow of his attacker, before passing out.

Orihime was pacing around her room with the blanket Ulquiorra had brought her heald tightly in her hands underneath her chin. She was carrying it around like it was a childhood blanket from home, it brought her a happiness she had been unable to feel since she arrived in Las Noches.

A knock at the door. "I'm coming in"

_Oh god he can't see me carrying this thing around like a child! Gotta hide it, Gotta hide it, GOTTA HIDE IT, THERE! _

Orihime threw it behind the couch and went to open the door.

"Good morning Ulqu... Huh who.. are..?" Orihime found her smile dissapear with the sight of the person on the other side of her door.

"HA! was my impression of Ulquiorra really that convincing?" Gin Ichimaru, a man Orihime had never seen except for the time on Sokyoku Hill in the Soul Society.

"Gin Ichimaru, it's a pleasure to meet you personally Orihime Inoue, i've heard quite a bit about you"

"Thank you, I .. I am" Orihime was fumbling over her words uncontrolably. She hardly knew this man, only of his incredible strength like when he had stopped her and her friends dead in their tracks just by his reiatsu alone.

"You're not nervous are you?" Gin took her by the hand and lead her out of her room.

"I was told never to leave this room.. Ichimaru-sama.. are you sure it's alright?"

" Ya always listened to Ulquiorra right? I'm a cut above him so of COURSE it's alright, dontcha worry.. Princess's are always looked after right?"

"R..Right" Orihime bowed her head and walked in step right behind Gin. She looked up occasionaly to see if she could tell where they were going but the opaque walls looked identical no matter how far down the hall they travelled.

When the fluroscent lighting faded away she looked up to see where they were. A grand entrance to an outdoor balcony awaited infront of her, she missed the sun and so she gladly stepped out into it's shining light.

She looked up to the sun and closed her eyes stretching out her arms to take in this atmosphere of a sunny day. Back home she might have spent a day like this at the beach in Karakura Town with Tatsuski, Uryu, Chad, and Ichigo. Maybe Rukia and Renji would come in from the Soul Society to join in the festivities, they could have a perfect day in the sun and sand by the waters edge.

I wonder, the thought popped into her head so unexpectantly she walked out and leaned over the balcony to balance herself, her head was feeling light as it was the first time she had been in daylight in nearly a month.

_I wonder.. if... if Ulquiorra had been a soul reaper.. or what kind of person he was before he was a hollow.. I wonder who his friends were.. if he had a family.. or a lover.._

The colour came to Orihime's cheeks she couldn't help but wonder about her captor's past, he was at one time just the same as her, a human being. Sometimes she forgot that looking into his lifeless green eyes, seeing that hole just below his throat so hollow it made her sad to think that he was once whole.

Gin watched the girls actions, every move she made. Obviously their field trip had made her happy, it would be fun to see how long that smile would last.


	7. On her Own Two Feet

Alone. Orihime Inoue had been brought out to this luxurious and mysterious balcony looking over the never ending sand dunes of Las Noches, and been abandoned there. Gin had left without so much of a word, it was only until she turned to him she noticed there was no one but her out there.

"OH NO" she thought "What will I do if i'm found out here alone they'll think I was trying to escape, they'll punish me.. they could.. kill m-" The tears welled up in her eyes and her lips started to quiver so she could not even finish her sentence. Orihime was never one for handling such dangerous situations, and when she did the hero would be there to rescue her, and rid her heart of any doubt. Her heart was filling up with anxiety, but no one was there to empty it.

"Ya look lost, pet" NNoitora suddenly was behind her his massive height and reiatsu brought her to her knees. She was crouched in front of him helpless, and alone just like before. Only this time she wasn't where she was supposed to be, no one would know where to find her.

She turned around slowly trying to prolong the agony of turning around and seeing the espada so menacing and evil she had feared ever since their meeting.

_Ulquiorra sensed his presence before.. he'll come ag-_

Just as she tried to convince her self otherwise of an impending doom, she saw it.

"HUH" Orihime gasped at the sight of Ulquiorra's lifeless body hanging from Nnoitora's hand. He heald him by the collar of his long white coat and lifted him up higher above Orihime's head.

"OH, did i break the princess's favourite toy?" Nnoitora smiled at her, his zanpaktou in his other hand was heald high in the air. Orihime looked at Ulquiorra then to NNoitora's sword, back and forth she turned her head attempting to make sense of an unbelievable situation

_No... No.. they're comrades, they're friends_

Orihime had a flashback of when Ulquiorra had rescued her, she was an idiot if she thought those two were friends, they were nothing more then a common species.

"Ulquiorra-sama, WHY!" She shrieked at Nnoitora which he got a kick out of as he laughed down at her. She was still on the ground unable to get up, even if she stood their difference in power would still keep him well above her.

"Why? why the hell not you dumb bitch, the strongest survive.. guess his strength wasn't too good huh?"

"Son..Sonten Kishun i reject" Orihime's hairpin flew from her long red hair and formed a shield of rejection around Ulquiorra. NNoitora dropped him not wanting his arm to get caught in her pathetic attempt to bring him back. It wasn't until he was dropped on his back till she saw the full extent of Ulquiorra's injury.

The glimmer fell away from her eyes, the life fell away from her heart. The deep gash started at his whole and stretched all the way down to his lower back. His coat was ripped to shreds and was blood stained so red it was almost black. Orihime just stared at the wound, as the one in her heart began to open up, deep, it hurt.

Nnoitora slammed his zanpaktou through Orihime's shield the semi circle shape of the top of his zanpaktou had the blade curve around Ulquirroa's neck. Orihime flew back from the pressure of the swing, but regained her footing standing on her own two feet for the first time. She stood there her knees slightly bent and her hands stretched out her palms facing Nnoitora. It was a convincing attack pose, but not one that could actually hold back the powerful espada.

He dug the ends of the blade into the ground further, bringing the inside of the massive sword closer and closer to Ulquiorra's neck. "Koten Zanshun" The girl knew only one attack, it wasn't one she had confidence in, let alone the killer instinct to use but it was something. She couldn't just do nothing, like she always did.

"Orihime" Ulquiorra's eyes were two tiny slits focused straight on her, he whispered her name to her as if it was a final goodbye, as if it was the end of something she was only just beginning to feel.

"ULQUIORRA-SAMA!" She yelled at Nnoitora as he hit away her attack with a quick balla and turned back to his victim.

"Callin' out to a human? you really ARE pathetic ya bastard, AHAHAHA" NNoitora layed the finishing blow beheading Ulquiorra on the balcony. A pool of blood was resanating between his head and body, in small lines it began to flow towards Orihime who had collapsed onto her knees and was sitting on her feet, the weight to stand on them now was too much.


	8. An Unexpected Visitor

Tears. Tears poored out of Orihime's eyes in a neverding wave of sorrow.

Nnoitora had left the scene 5 minutes ago without so much a a word to Orihime, he just kicked Ulquiorra's body to make sure it really was dead and left.  
He just left.

Orihime was nearly sick to her stomach, she was chocking back tears and the stench of blood made her so nauscious she didn't want to inhale one more breath. Maybe it wasn't the stench of blood though, Ichigo had been cut up so many times infront of her.. maybe it was the fact it was his blood.

"Santen Kishun i reject, I REJECT, I REJECT, I REJECT" Orihime was pounding fists on the pavement. Her voice got louder after every word, she was so distraught she just noticed now the cold hand on her shoulder. She looked at it's delicate placement the grey/white tone of every finger up to the bony wrist.

"Woman.. what is this?" 


	9. Love is No Illusion

"Ulquiorra?" An astonished Orihime turned around to face the man she had just seen murdered right before her very eyes, in disbelief she reached out for him. She stood up once more only to collapse into his shoulder she was crying uncontrolably into him. His eyes grew wide and he looked down at her confused as the tears she was shedding, were for him.

"Why are you out here, alone, why are you crying?" Ulquiorra had awoken in the doorway of a large entranceway leading out onto the balcony he had originaly intended to take Orihime. to He was back where he started but he knew he had blacked out.. but what the hell had he missed?

"You died.. you were killed right infront of me"

"That's unlikely, due to the fact we are conversing right now"

"No,No,NO! You idiot, don't you see YOUR corpse right behind me?" Orihime looked up at him to see why on earth he was acting so calm. Shouldn't he be seeing the same horror she had witnessed, shouldn't he see his dismembered body covered in blood right behind her. Shouldn't he not be comforting her right now.. he was supposed to be dead.

"Lord Aizen" Ulquiorra bowed his head and turned Orihime around trying to make it seem like she was not all over him. Lord Aizen was behind them both picking up his sword off the ground. He had already dispelled the hypnosis effect of Kyoka Suigetsu by the time Ulquiorra had walked out onto the balcony to see Orihime. He saw nothing, except Lord Aizen retrieving his zanpaktou and a sobbing Orihime.

"My,my things weren't supposed to be taken quite this far... I suppose I owe you an apology Orihime" Orihime just stared at the man who was had a smug look on his face. She hardly believed his apology let alone would accept it, so she just nodded and stood back behind Ulquiorra. The safest place for her.

" I will escort Orihime back to her chambers now Lord Aizen"

"I suppose I owe you an apology too Ulquiorra being a pawn in a game you hadn't even known was being played"

"I know all of your actions have reasons behind them, your apology is not necessary"

But why would he fake my death infront of this woman.. unless

The pair turned around and walked away as they thought Aizen had left, Orihime laid her head onto Ulquiorra's shoulder, he snaked his arm around her waist. Ulquiorra turned around unexpectant to see his master staring at the two of them smiling. He tried not to look surprised but didn't take his arm away even though he knew this behaviour was unacceptable. Lord Aizen had already seen proof of the relationship that was forming between him and this human, there was nothing he could do to hide it now.

Ulquiorra turned his head back around and used his sonido to flash away so he would not have to be stared down by Lord Aizen anymore, the whole situation made him feel awkward and... human. He was actually starting to worry about another person, another living thing.. a human of all things?

Impossible he thought as he looked down at Orihime who was staring off into a world not even he knew of. She didn't look like she could even speak right now, so he decided not to ask her anything else about what had really happened out on the balcony.

"Wo-Orihime, you dont have to speak, but know that if I were to die... it would be me protecting you and not the other way around.. as you are my responsibility" Orihime looked up at him with a light in her eyes she couldn't help but let him see shining.

She didn't know if this Ulquiorra was just another illusion or not, but she didn't care because there was no way the feeling that she had right now wasn't real. 


	10. An Empty Heart Gets a New Start

"You should sleep now"

"Thank you, but to be honest the adrenelaine is still coarsing through my veins.. seeing you alive again it's so.. relieving"

Ulquiorra had walked Orihime all the way back to her quarters and was now sitting beside her as she layed down on the couch, her head propped up against a pillow at one end. Ulquiorra was sitting on a white wooden chair looking around every so often to watch over the room, to watch over her. He felt a protectiveness over her he couldn't shake, when he tried to get away from her he felt worried. He didn't know what was more sickening the feeling of losing her or the feeling he got from realizing he cared for her.

"I have to go now, to speak to Lord Aizen about the events that took place earlier today"

"Just a bit longer?"

She grabbed for his hand as he got up and started to walk away. She was just about to reach it when he snatched it away quickly, but soon regretted it and put it apprehensively into his pocket.

Ulquiorra hesitated to turn around and let her have her way but resisted. She had already gotten more then enough comfort from him today. Besides, he had to figure out what Lord Aizen, his most trusted and respected master, had been thinking when he pitted Nnoitora and an illusion of himself against one another infront of Orihime. A meeting which resulted in his apparent death, which surprisingly hurt Orihime very, very badly.

All she could do was watch Ulquiorra walk out the room in silence. An uneasy feeling that would normally envelop her after his departure never came, because she knew he would return.

* * *

Ulquiorra walked to Aizen's main throne room to see if he could have a brief meeting with his master to discuss the day's events. He walked by the empty halls trying to clear his head so that Aizen would not be able to sense any emotional compromise on his part. He would know that him and Orihime were becoming close but if Ulquiorra could convince him it would go no further then what he saw on the balcony, everything would be alright.

"EH, you look alot lik-ULQUIORRA!" A stunned Nnoitora didn't have all seeing eyes like Ulquiorra, but he certaintly saw his comrade's dead corpse infront of him only hours ago.

"Hmm" Ulquiorra turned around to see the towering espada come towards him with a look of disbelief and rage on his face.

"You sneaky little bastard! I KILLED YOU!.. WITH MY SWORD! IT WAS INFRONT OF THAT WO.. THAT WHORE SHE HEALED YOU BACK FROM THE DEAD?"

He was very loud, confused and not at all concerned with the scene he was making. Ulquiorra's execution was a direct order from Gin Ichimaru the man had come to his room and asked him to kill Ulquiorra for insobordanation among many other offences. Nnoitora's understanding of the conversation of course began and ended with the word "kill". He did also have another command, it was to be done infront of Orihime Inoue. The girl needed to be shown the dark side of the espada, and Nnoitora was happy to be an agent of darkness. If someone needed to die it might as well be at the hand of someone as powerful as himself, Ulquiorra being ranked a number ahead of him had seemed like a grave miscalculation after the balcony.

"Who told you to kill me?"

"DON'T MATTER, since I apparently didn't you lil cockroach"

"I will find out the source of your orders and when I do it won't be long until it is your head that's laying lifeless on the ground, if you _ever_ come near me or my subordinate again."

"Who? Your Su..subor-HAHAHAHAH!" Nnoitora didn't understand who he was referring to at first but when he did he bent over laughing. Clenching his stomach he composed himself and returned to looking down upon Ulquiorra again.

"You're calling that insignificant human ant your subordinate? "

Ulquiorra walked past Nnoitora, ignoring his comment about his reference to Orihime as his subordinate. Most of the Espada had a fraccion of some type, some were treated as mindless monsters others seen as close companions. It was hard for Ulquiorra to ever imagine having someone to relate to, to rely on. He lived in a world with four walls, no doors, no windows. It was impossible for anyone on the outside to get in, and anyone on the inside to get out. Which was perfectly fine for Ulquiorra since he had realized that

Orihime Inoue had built herself a door and waltzed in like it was her own home, that was something Ulquiorra hated and thanked her for.

"My mistake, the prisoner and I will no longer be of a concern to you, Nnoitora"

"Comin' back from the dead didn't scare me off, what makes ya think your empty threats will"

Nnoitora only saw Ulquiorra begin to move his hand toward the hilt of his sword, before he knew it the blade was out and had been pierced through his right shoulder.

"**AAAOOOOWW**" He yelled out a blood curtling scream"**DAMN IT UUULQUIORRRA**!"

Ulquiorra slowly, painfully pulled out his zanpaktou and slid the blood stained blade right infront of Nnoitora's neck.

"_I_ may be empty, but my threats are filled with enough hatred to slice your throat"

Nnoitora just snarled at Ulquiorra who sheathed his sword and continued down the hall. Nnoitora might be an overconfident beast with a taste for blood and battery, but he wasn't about to go try and kill a deadman.

"And there's this thing in the real world called cake! I find you can only really appreciate it if you eat the WHOLE thing!"

"Is there any meat in cake?"

"None I can think of.." Orihime had her index finger on her chin as she looked up actually thinking about any experiences she had had where she ate a meat cake.

"Then what's the point? on second thought.. I really don't give a shit woman.."

A strange sight. Grimmjow was sitting on the couch adjacent from Orihime with his right foot resting on his left knee and his chin in his hand. He was looking at anything, thinking of anything that could make this time go by a hell of a lot quicker. Ulquiorra had been soo paranoid about this human girl he couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw the two of them together. It was so easy to piss him off, the challenge was getting him to show it. Grimmjow liked a challenge.

"Ya know when Ulquiorra is getting back by any chance?"

"Soon, I hope" Her cheeks flushed and she looked at the ground as if he were standing there right before her. The look of a young girl in love, a look that didn't sit as well with Grimmjow as it did Orihime.

"Yeeuck" Grimmjow stuck out his tongue and groaned at her state of infatuation. He shifted his eyes to be looking right at Orihime.

I don't get it..This chick is helpless, an idiot, annoying as hell AND a human.. Ulquiorra must have some alterior motives.. or she helps with his..

"OH! I ALMOST FORGOT!"

Grimmjow kept his eyes on her but didn't change his body positioning at all, which was lacking any enthusiasm towards the girl since he had gottten there. He just stared at her and so she put her head back down thinking he didn't want to hear what she had to say. Which he didn't but sitting in an awkward silence having her looked like a kicked puppy was even worse then having her talk to him. So he gave in to the princess's pleas.

"What is it woman?"

Her expressions were as bipolar as Grimmjow and Ulquiorra's personalities. She went from an injured lap dog to a prize winning show dog as she glowed with excitement at the espada.

"ICECREAM, it goes on top, beside or sometimes inside the cake!"

Grimmjow's head cocked down in dissapointment.

There's gotta be better ways to piss off Ulquiorra then this..

A knock on the door.

"YES!" Grimmjow stood up and walked over to Orihime's couch, he put his arm on the back of the couch and pulled her in.

"Grim..what are you?"

"Say one more word, and your dead, got it?"

"Yes.." Yet Orihime didn't actually feel frightened by his threats more amused by them. He had arrived peacefully and had done nothing to hurt her in any way. She knew his intentions weren't to actually be with her, she wasn't quite sure what they were but as long as she wasn't in any real danger she felt at ease. It was weird to think her kidnappers were fighting like kids infront of her, malicious, blood lusting kids.. but childish ones none the less.

"I'm coming in Orih.. is someone in there with you?"

He always was pretty damn good at that reiatsu stuff..

Grimmjow had to step it up a notch, Ulquiorra would know it was him in here but he would never guess what he would find him doing.

"Grimmjow" The name came off his lips as icy as ever when he burst open the door to see what on earth the sixth espada was doing in Orihime's chambers.

There, sitting side by side on the couch Orihime Inoue and Grimmjow Jeagerjaqques... were sharing a kiss.


	11. Right Kiss, Wrong Person

Ulquiorra waited outside the door of Aizen's chambers. When the two large doors opened after he announced his name and rank he walked in looking around to see where his Lord might have been. Before he would have kept his eyes on the floor and waited till Aizen spoke to him to make direct eye contact, but an untrustworthy man just became even more mysterious to him.

He spotted him sitting on his throne on a huge balcony which outlooked on to the real desert of Hueco Mundo, the black sky was so conflicting to the bright white sands. He walked beside the throne and looked to his Lord who was gazing out into a world he controlled, the first of many he hoped. Without Aizen making any instigation to start their conversation Ulquiorra began to say something "Lord Aizen, about-"

"Orihime?"

"Yes"

"She wasn't harmed after the events on the balcony was she?"

"No, however i feel confused to why she was targeted to begin with"

"Ulquiorra I have been looking onto these sands for quite some time now and I wonder, do you think that the desert with it's elegant and soft white sand could fill up that empty black sky?"

"To some extent but there would be wholes,gaps, it's emptiness could never be filled completely"

"Yes, that's what I thought" Aizen grinned looking at Ulquiorra who was also now staring at the desert with much more interest now.

* * *

"And there's this thing in the real world called cake! I find you can only really appreciate it if you eat the WHOLE thing!"

"Is there any meat in cake?"

"None I can think of.." Orihime had her index finger on her chin as she looked up actually thinking about any experiences where she had eaten a meat cake. Her grey eyes were big and beautiful but often blind to the sarcasm of cynical characters like Grimmjow Jeagerjaques

"Then what's the point? on second thought.. I really don't give a shit woman.."

A strange sight. Grimmjow was sitting on the couch adjacent from Orihime with his right foot resting on his left knee and his chin in his hand. He was looking at anything, thinking of anything that could make this time go by a hell of a lot quicker. Ulquiorra had been soo paranoid about this human girl he couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he saw the two of them together. It was so easy to piss him off, the challenge was getting him to show it. Grimmjow liked a challenge. He had made the mistake of asking her what she was thinking about after a solid 10 minutes of silence between the two. He never expected it would be her favourite foods from the real world, which was a subject he didn't give a rat's ass about, but was now being told about in great detail.

"Ya know when Ulquiorra is getting back by any chance?"

"Soon, I hope" Her cheeks flushed and she looked at the ground as if he were standing there right before her. The look of a young girl in love, a look that didn't sit as well with Grimmjow as it did with Orihime.

"Yeeuck" Grimmjow stuck out his tongue showing his jagged teeth. He groaned at her state of infatuation and then shifted his eyes to be looking right at Orihime.

_I don't get it..This chick is helpless, an idiot, annoying as hell AND a human.. Ulquiorra must have some alterior motives, I mean I could kill the girl but then it would be done and over with.. Plus I just got my left arm back, don't need Tosen's boy scout persona to shine through again. He was mad about insobordination, if I killed a girl he'd probably incinerate the rest of me.._

"OH! I ALMOST FORGOT!"

Grimmjow's train of thought was broken by Orihime's sudden excitement. He kept his eyes on her but didn't change his body positioning at all, which was lacking any enthusiasm towards the girl since he had gottten there. He just stared at her and so she put her head back down thinking he didn't want to hear what she had to say. Which he didn't, but sitting in an awkward silence having her look like a kicked puppy was even worse then having her talk to him. So he gave in to the princess's pleas.

"What is it woman?"

You would think Orihime's expressions were using sonido as she went from looking stiff and disapointed to glowing with joy and enthusiasm.

"ICECREAM, it goes on top, beside or sometimes inside the cake, it's cold though gotta watch out for **BRAIN FREEZE**!" Orihime stuck out her arms like a zombie and had the expression of what she though was the walking dead on her face. Comedy, yes that was the way to win over an espada who's' idea of a joke was punching his fist through your chest.

Grimmjow's head cocked down from the final blow in a constant barrage of human stupidity he had been enduring.

_There's gotta be better ways to piss off Ulquiorra then this.._

A knock on the door.

"YES!" Grimmjow stood up swiftly and walked over to Orihime's couch, he put his arm on the back of the couch and pulled her in.

"Grim..what are you?"

"Say one more word, and your dead"

"Yes.." Yet Orihime didn't actually feel frightened by his threats, she didn't know what she felt but it wasn't fear. He had been knocking vigourously while she was asleep and when she finally opened the door an impatient Grimmjow mowed his way into her room. He told her he was stopping by for a while to keep an eye on her. He mumbled about it being an order from Lord Aizen but his story was short, choppy and unbelievable. Sitting in such a close proximity to an espada made her only think of one person and in her daydream she relaxed her body and sat more comfortably and closer to Grimmjow.

"I'm coming in Orih.. is someone in there with you?"

_He always was pretty damn good at that reiatsu stuff.._

Grimmjow had to step it up a notch, Ulquiorra would know it was him in there by now. It wouldn't be good enough just to find them there together, he couldn't hurt her so he had to hurt him.

"Grimmjow" The name came off his lips as icy as ever when he burst open the door to see what on earth the sixth espada was doing in Orihime's chambers.

There, sitting side by side on the couch Orihime Inoue and Grimmjow Jeagerjaqques... were sharing a kiss


	12. Fear Pain Death? What Makes a Monster?

Grimmjow was right about one thing, Ulquiorra would return to the room shortly after he arrived. What he didn't plan on was being greeted by Ulquiorra, Lord Aizen and Gin Ichimaru.

Shit,shit,shit,shit

The word replayed in his head a countless number of times as he parted his lips from Orihime's and pushed the girl away as if she had instigated the whole thing. He shifted his eyes in every direction except the one right in front of him where three of the most surprised beings in Las Noches were standing in utter shock.

"Bad timin', ya know?" Gin was the first to break the awkward silence with a comment that made no one loosen up. Although he chuckled to himself at the complete embarrassment that the two people in front of him must be feeling.

Orihime just stayed in the position she had been pushed into. In the corner of the couch her legs were both bent and leaning to the right, her hands were in her lap, shaking uncontrollably. She could feel her cheeks fill up with a colour so red it would be seen by everyone.. just like the kiss.

"Well, it seems you were right about the other espada showing an eccentric and.. dangerous interest in the girl, Ulquiorra" Lord Aizen turned his head to him noticing his posture was as stiff as a block of seki seki rock. He stared at him for a moment then back at Grimmjow and Orihime, relishing in the fact that the two were playing into his game so perfectly. And like Ulquiorra were completely unaware of their participation.

It was rare for Ulquiorra to internally be upset, but an even greater rarity for him to show such emotional instability. He resisted his instinct to feel anger, although he sure as hell did, and simply responded with a nod and "Yes, my Lord".

"Grimmjow stood up and put his hands into his pockets he let out a long sigh and walked outside the door. A clear exit was now available since Lord Aizen, Gin and Ulquiorra had all come inside the room.

"Grimmjow-" Lord Aizen began.

"We have some things to discuss with Orihime, she is moving rooms.. would you like to know the location of her new chambers?" Aizen smirked as he felt the tension between his two espada nearly blow up the entire room.

"My Lord I don't-"

"CH, No way in hell"

Grimmjow cut off Ulquiorra before he could even protest the idea. He left the room but took one last look at the espada when Aizen and Gin weren't looking and showed his devious smile. It wasn't the way he wanted things to go,but the result was still the same, a pissed off Ulquiorra.

Aizen and Gin ignored Grimmjow's audacity and returned to the amusement at hand.

"Orihime, would you be as kind to follow us to your new chambers?"

"Yes Lord Aizen-sama um." Orihime had something to say, everyone could tell but after the act she had just been caught in she didn't feel like she was in any position to be asking favours. Apparently, Aizen thought otherwise.

"Do you need something?" He asked as kindly as ever, the empathy and sincerity in his voice was so convincing Orihime couldn't help but fall for it. She would fall for anything at this point her head was unable to wrap itself around the craziness of the situation.

"May I speak with Ulquiorra-sama for a moment?" She gulped trying to say the last part in the most casual way possible "Alone?"

Ulquiorra looked at her narrowing his eyes trying to read the emotion on her face, there were too many for him to count.

Aizen's grin grew as he looked from Orihime to Ulquiorra.

"Of course, we will be waiting outside"

"You sure we should be trustin' her alone with Ulquiorra?... Jus sayin.."

"It'll be fine Gin" He looked at his subordinate who didn't further question his command and they both left the room closing the door behind them, but not closing their ears.

Orihime and Ulquiorra stood there, both speechless because they didn't know how to confess the emotions they were feeling with one another. Orihime stood there in front of him looking from his eyes to his chest where his hollow whole was covered and back up again.

Ulquiorra was enraged, of all people he could find the girl with its Grimmjow the guy who joked with him about having to kill Orihime one day. He was now kissing her, his usual impeccable judgment was being clouded with thoughts of distrust and distress. How could she do this to him, she was just shedding tears for him, a mess. She was nothing, so she made him her everything. She had given up on all her friends, the two soul reapers, the Quincy, the armored human and

"Ichigo Kurosaki.."

Orihime, who had been staring at her own feet trying to put thoughts into words, and her emotions in check, was stunned to hear him say the name. She looked up immediately and looked right into his eyes, why did his name make her heart skip a beat? She had said his name before and it didn't make her feel anything, but hear someone else say it with such displeasure reminded her he was in Hueco Mundo for her. He was over him coming to save her, the minute she could reach him she thought she would him, everyone, to go home...

NO, she couldn't do that it was tearing her apart having them come there in the first place.. what if she confronted them, told them their efforts had been wasted and she staying with Aizen and the Espada.. for Ulquiorra. Aizen wanted to destroy her home.. her friends. Friends. Tastuski! All this time her best friend was probably worried sick for her and she was filling her head with thoughts and feelings for a monster turned human.. a hollow.

"Are you a monster?"

As if the whole incident with Grimmjow had just gone away Orihime was now asking questions about him, Ulquiorra, who had done nothing, provoked nothing that would cause her to interrogate him.

"What?"

"Do you feed off fear,do you like hurting, killing.. when you heard of the destruction of Karakura Town, MY HOME, Did it begin to matter to you.. because I had begun to matter to you.." Orihime, for once, was staying strong and not asking questions with tear filled eyes and a shaking voice filled with uncertainty.

Before her world fell apart, she wanted to know if Ulquiorra would stand on that last sliver or land with her.. or watch from the untouched skies above her.

He had always been above her since they had come to Hueco Mundo, to Las Noches. He was her superior.. his orders were followed, until she started to realize they were feeling less like orders and more like requests, then questions then it was like he was only trying to make conversation. And in him reaching out, he was no longer untouchable. She could reach him.

"Ridiculous, you used the term like it's so below you, like it can't be reflected in your own life"

Orihime clenched her fists and felt as a bead of sweat dripped off her brow and onto her white robe. She did not respond to Ulquiorra, not that she could. His spiritual pressure was rising and began to slowly push down on her, making it difficult enough just to stand up. But she stood tall and ignored the feeling of her body being crushed, overwhelmed by the force of Ulquiorra without him even laying a finger on her.

He saw she did not have a response for him, so he continued with showing her how her question was filled with ignorance and naivety.

"Do I feed off fear? Everything living thing that needs to make it to the top feeds off fear. You'll need to surpass someone, always be beating them the more casualties you can cause on the way to the top the more you will be feared. Fear leads to respect which you humans see as a trait to be obtained. You use fear to win arguments, problems, wars.. Fear has its place in your society. "

"Do you think your Shinigami friends or even your human friends ever once showed second thoughts about the ones they killed? No. because they have the resolve to know that defeating your opponent is the only way to win whether they like it or not. And in a place like this if you don't become the monster you are trying to destroy, how could they ever hope to save you?"

Orihime was taken aback by the thought of her never being saved. Maybe she would never have to make the decision between her life back home and her life in Las Noches because there would be no rescue, what if-. No that was enough second guessing her friends, he knew nothing of loyalty of friendship his words were filled with as much ignorance as hers had been.

"As for your town..your home became Las Noches the minute you came here, without protest"

"YOU WERE THREATNING MY FRIENDS!"

"Then let them die, and save your home. Or is a home made by the people that shelter you from burdens, fear, pain, death? If this is the case then your home has come to Las Noches after all. Where it will die."

"Stop it"

"You asked me a question, I answered it. If you wanted to hear your version answer the question yourself"

The two just stared at each other, neither of them had moved from their original spots in a literal action of standing their ground.

"Or..you could hear it from the lips of Grimmjow that way you would now how it would sound and taste"

Ulquiorra brought back the conversation to the original topic it had intended to be about. He stared at her and the two fell into silence which was a hint to their visitors outside that the fighting has ceased, for now.

"OH BOY, that human struck a nerve or somethin"

"Interesting how when she heard Kurosaki Ichigo's name, her whole mindset changed"

Gin began to smile; he had an idea which he knew had just come into Aizen's head.

"What do ya think his face would do to her?"

The two men looked at each other and then walked down the hallway their steps would seem silent compared to the noise of the ideas buzzing in their mind.


	13. A Plan Backfired, the Role Reversal

She could feel an itch at the back of her throat. She could feel a crack in the base of her heart. She could feel.. Everything and nothing all at once.

His reiatsu was still at an incredible level but she had to fight through the force because this was not a conversation that could be brought up again later. It had to be dealt with, now or never.

"Tell me, do you still love Ichigo Kurosaki?"

However, his questions were making her think never would have been easier.

How could he of all people use the word so casually? He asked the question like it could be answered with a simple yes or no answer, he asked it like a person.. who had never felt it.

"I .. I don't love Kurosaki-kun and if I did.. if I do, it's not like it's something I could just stop doing"

"Then don't ask me foolish questions like coming with you and leaving Lord Aizen, the level of your ignorance is inconceivable"

It was true after Ulquiorra's quip about her and Grimmjow she had asked him if he would come with her, since she realized she couldn't stay with him. She didn't expect him to say yes, although she had hoped he would feel some need to follow his heart. But that was overestimating him, overestimating the lengths which he would go to make her happy. To make himself happy. Deep down she knew it would be strange, misunderstood and ridiculed but after that all that would remain, all that could remain would be their two souls bonded as one.

Ulquiorra stared at her until he realized he was staring at the bare white wall behind her because he could see right through her.

"Kurosaki-kun will always be a part of my life but I'm willing to give you all of my soul if you'll just come with me"

Ulquiorra removed his left hand from his pocket, he walked closer to her.

What's he doing, why's he coming so close?

She found herself looking at the hilt of his sword she didn't think he would kill her. Then again she didn't think a lot of things like he would bring her a blanket or become furious seeing her with Grimmjow. When she actually thought about it, she couldn't think anything about him and be certain.

"What?" She said her voice a bit more shaky now but her stance was not swaying

He was now right in front of her the left hand he had removed from his pocket was beside her cheek, close enough to feel the reiatsu emanating from it. This type felt warmer then the sharp and angry one that was weighing her down earlier.

Her nerves had calmed a bit after feeling the tender heat from his palm but she wasn't letting her guard down yet, after all he had a sword and what did she have but a broken resolve and a quivering voice.

"You'd give me all of your soul, Orihime?"

The way he said her name melted her up right posture into a sinking slouch. She felt herself lean forward a bit, closer to him still.

"May I have something else first?"

His hand lightly pressed itself against her cheek, his head tilted sideways and he leaned his head in for what else but a kiss. She was apprehensive at first but realized this could be the kiss that changed his mind, the kiss that brought them into each other's arms once more. So she tilted her head as well and leaned in for what she hoped would determine his decision once and for all.

"No." She opened her eyes abruptly, his head was still tilted but he was looking at her with his emerald green eyes. Her grey pupils became dilated and her leaning body collapsed into his. He caught her, having realized she would faint into him after releasing such a powerful and sudden burst of reiatsu.

"Such a foolish girl" He said holding her head against his chest, embracing her rather than just supporting her.

"Letting me have things so easily" That same half-grin returned to his lips as he he realized Grimmjow had stolen a kiss, he would have been given one on a silver platter. He had succeeded in making him angry, but also in bringing him closer to Orihime. It had been a win-lose for the sixth espada.

A kiss that she thought had been intended for her lips was given to her forehead instead as he laid her down on the couch. He watched as her breathing lifted her chest and diaphragm up and down in a rhythm he became entranced in. Seeing her breath, seeing her alive, young and so beautiful in front of him made him bring up his hand and bury his face in it.

"Why does it hurt" his muffled voice came from in behind the hand which was now clenching his face trying to keep his all seeing eye from seeing the truth. He held his hand flatly over his hollow hole which felt as if it was burning on fire. It hurt even more as he slowly opened his eyes and when he finally looked at her again the pain was unbearable. He quickly shifted his eyes away but couldn't help them from returning to her perfection. Which brought him more pain.

"Damn it" He fell backwards into the couch adjacent from her and layed his head on the back of it. He was now clenching his chest right around his hollow whole he looked down on it, it was reminding him. Reminding him that to feel emotional attachment to anything, to anyone, to her, it was impossible. His all seeing eye would have liked to be blind since he could see that what was happening between him and Orihime would bring his demise, if she needed his devotion.

* * *

"_Oriihiiiimmeee_" The voice said her name in a tone so sensual and aluring she had to see who it belonged to.

She looked around an empty room. There was no one there, a sight she was used to after all, it was her own bedroom.

Wait. It was her own bedroom, in her own house. She was in her own bedroom, in her own house, in her own town.

She forgot momentarily about the voice that had awoken her by calling her name and ran around to check on everything.

She grabbed the picture of her and her brother.

"Sora" She smiled a tear coming to her eye, she had forgotten him. She had forgotten about the comfort of her own room brought her and she breathed deeply. It was all back everything, her life was full again, nothing was missing, nothing.

A voice called out to her from downstairs, she opened her bedroom window to see Tatsuki waving up to her. It was a beautiful sunny day in Karakura town, she looked down at her best friend who was still looking up at her. She was wearing her school uniform and would always come and see Orihime before they went to class in the morning.

"Good morning Tatsuki-chan!"

Orihime closed the window and realized she would need to start getting ready for school, if Tastuki was already there it would she mean had a little over five minutes to get ready. Four of which would be spent cooking up a one of a kind lunch for herself. She didn't care how she looked though she just cared about whom and what she was looking at, she was home and that's all that mattered. She went to put the picture of her and her brother down on her chest of drawers.

The frame suddenly disappeared from her hands. She did a double take all around her to see if she had accidentally dropped it in the excitement of seeing her friend. It was nowhere to be found, which could be said about the rest of her room, it was all gone again by the time she had turned around. She looked back out into the window where Tatsuki had been, there was no window, no sunshine, no Tatsuki.

"Inoue! What are you doing! We need to go!"

"Kuro..Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo's bright orange hair and deep brown eyes were looking at her with an intent like they were running for their lives. It surprised her since Ichigo never ran from anything, he always stayed and fought whatever was threatening him or his friends.

The curiosity began to build up inside her as she and Ichigo ran. They were in the desert of Hueco Mundo, black sky, white sand the two were so different from one another her eyes were adjusting to their contrast. Her footsteps felt like they were getting heavier with every step it was unreal how long her and Rukia had been running.

"Kuchiki-san?"

"Inoue! Hurry, we need to get you safety"

"Where's Kurosaki-kun?"

Her immobile feet stopped the two of them dead in their tracks.

"Who? Orihime.."

"Abarai-kun...?"

What the hell was going on, everyone would be there for her one second and then they would leave her the next. She didn't understand why everything she once had was not there anymore.

An arm on each side of her linked with hers and Ishida and Chad continued forward through the desert.

"WHY DO YOU KEEP DISSAPEARING?"

This time she wouldn't look away, she wouldn't lose sight of them. She yelled at them but they couldn't respond to her since their mouths, followed by their faces, torsos and then the rest of them were evaporating into thin air. Their silhouettes still remained, their shadows she could see spread out across the white coarse sand where they had been running with her, trying to protect her from something they could not defeat.

All of a sudden a thunderous boom came from behind her, she looked to see what it was, and it was nothing. It was empty, it was black it was consuming everything and gaining nothing.

"What.. are you"

"_Oriiiihiiiiimme_, I'm here for your soul"

The same voice which had awoken her just to bring her into a nightmare teased her as it reminded her of the offering she made to him.

"Ulquiorra.. this.. this isn't you!"

Suddenly from this overwhelming shadow Ulquiorra walked out of it, his hands in both pockets and walking towards her. His left hand stretched out waiting for her to give him something.

"It's all you have left to offer me, everything else you have is gone, your life is empty."

Oh my god, it was true. All her friends, her family, her house, her town it was gone she had nothing anymore. She felt worthless she was in a state of mind where worst case scenarios were her only options and anxiety and depression were her means of comfort.

"I'll have nothing left" She was breathless, angered by the loss which had happened in the blink of an eye, again.

"You.. You took it all from me!"

He did, he had, and he would continue to take it all. Her happiness, her freedom, her loved ones, her LIFE, he would take it all. And her soul would be empty.

"NO, I WON'T BE EMPTY!"

"It's too late _Orihime_, _Orihime_ you're already draining the life out of your soul and into my hands as we speak, _**Orihime **_you are mine"

He said her name every time it becoming that much more passionate and lustful. It disgusted her and yet there she was no word of protest just watching his white hands scooped beneath her heart as she saw her memories, aspirations, secrets, fears, everything spill out of the whole that was now in her chest. They came out as black flames with traces of green, the life she had made for herself being brought out in this fiery and passionate channel and was now filling his hands with her very being.

"Are you a monster?" They were standing in the chambers of a prisoner who had been taken to Las Noches by the orders of Lord Aizen.

The young man with black hair and emerald green eyes looked at her with a hope in his eyes that she would answer his question. He had pale skin and was wearing a black dress shirt which was opened at the top, exposing nothing but his protruding collarbones. He wore white pants with black seems, the same tailor of the dress she was wearing.

Her grey eyes looked at him unsure of his question. Beneath her right eye there was a small white tear drop, there were two more below it in a zigzag pattern increasing in size. The fourth tear drop's bottom extended down the side of her neck in swirls of white, it curved all the way down to the base of her throat. Its shape was flowing and sad, it was like the teardrops that fell all the way down this long curve only had one place to go. Her long black and white dress fitted her flawlessly; it covered her body completely except for a hole cut into it right beneath her collar bones. The shape of the opening was the same as her two iridescent hair clips, at the centre a dense, black hole showed through. The tears she would cry would travel straight into this hollow void, since her emotions had nowhere to go but into the darkness, disappearing.

"Yes, I am"

"Why?"

"Because I have _no soul_"


	14. A New Room, An Old Face

Orihime awoke with listlessness about her. She looked around not completely awake, her eyes were still tiny slits as they were adjusting to the brightness coming from the window. Which she wasn't used to since the only window in her room showed the black night sky. And this one was opened to a sun filled, shining blue sky.

Her eyes widened quickly realizing this phenomena and she looked at her surroundings curiously. The decor left no doubt in her mind that she was still in Las Noches but the room was different, and she was laying in a bed rather than on the white couch from her old room.

_A new room_

That was right, before she had passed out during a conversation, er.. heated discussion with Ulquiorra Lord Aizen had talked to her about new living quarters, these were obviously them. The decor was the same, simple shades of white and grey furniture was spread out across the room. A few new pieces like a coffee table, a bookcase, a nightstand and of course a bed were now allowing her to get the feeling like her stay here would be longer, but more comfortable then she had thought. She looked straight ahead of her to see a door, it had a knob on the inside so she decided to go try and open it.

She was still in her dress and found herself looking down at her chest to see if something was there or rather missing, nothing was. She opened the door a crack unsure if it leads into the hallways but it just opened into a medium size dining area with a table and 6 chairs, a vase which held a red rose was placed in the centre. The dining table was all that was in the room other than a rug, this room was equally filled with sunlight but from an open balcony rather than a window.

Wait.. if it's open I could see outside and maybe see..

She ran over to the balcony through a pair of sheer curtains to find him there. She didn't expect to see him, so upon seeing his face her run had slowed to a complete stop.

"Kuro..Kurosaki-kun!"

He was there, no really he was there. In the flesh Ichigo Kurosaki was sitting on the balcony, he had his zanpaktou laid flat across the ledge of it and was smiling at her.

"Inoue, you look well"

She didn't know what to think, it could be an illusion damn that bastard Aizen and his mind games this could all be some part of his plan. She could be under his spell and not even know it, he had done it with Ulquiorra why wouldn't he do it with Ichigo?

"Inoue? Are you okay?" The concern in his voice made every doubt leave her heart with it's excessive beating. The worried expression on his face had to be real, it had to be. Those eyes couldn't be

an illusion, they were much too filled with triumph from seeing that she was unharmed and he had succeeded in rescuing her.

He was now off the ledge of the balcony and standing just a few steps away from her. She ran into him, hugging him, embracing him for all he was to her. Her eyes filled with tears and she kept saying his name over and over again to herself more than him realizing that he was no figment of her imagination.

"Have you seen Ulquiorra?"

"Huh..?"

"Have you seen him, I can't leave here until I've defeated him, and all the espada, and Aizen this has to all end here, before they can reach Karakura Town"

"No.. you see Ulquiorra isn't"

What the hell was she doing? The worried look on his face only deepened as he started to question why she was defending him.

"Ulquiorra, I have to defeat him. He's Aizen's minion he won't leave Karakura Town alone unless I do, He won't leave you alone"

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing"

The two had abandoned their emotionally filled moment and were now standing only a few steps away from one another, but could feel worlds between them.

"Inoue.. You can't trust him, you can't trust any of them I know you've been here a long time but we are here to rescue you!"

"I know! Kurosaki-kun I want to be rescued but I think Ulquiorra has changed... please, can't we.. He can be trusted, I trust him.. And you trust me, don't you?"

Ichigo looked at her. She was Orihime Inoue, nothing would change her mind once it was made up about protecting someone. Why she had chosen Ulquiorra was incomprehensible to Ichigo but he couldn't fight with her just as he had finally found her. He didn't want to lie to her, but his first priority was to protect her and that would have to come above being honest with her.

"Alright Inoue, But hurry let's go" He smiled at her knowing that this would put her at ease as she embraced him once more so that he could flash step them far away from here. Just as they disappeared the second door that lead into the dining room from the hallway began to open.

"Did you place her in her new chambers Gin?"

"You betcha! I actually had Ulquiorra move her there last night for me, so he knows right where they are!"

"Good."

"I'm shocked you would place her so close to where we last saw the ryoka boy.. seems irresponsible Lord Aizen"

"He is part of a rescue party; an attempt at her retrieval should at least result in them meeting face to face once"

"An attempt can't happen twice?"

"Not unless Ulquiorra plans to leave him alive"

The two men grinned as they watched Szayel Apporo's screens surveying all the rooms of Las Noches. Ulquiorra was standing in Orihime Inoue's new chambers with eleven more roses to join the lone one that was in the vase. These roses were now scattered on the floor at his feet as he realized like that rose, he was the only one in the room.


	15. Time Limit

_How could she do this? Of all the irrational things to do.. this woman_

Ulquiorra was pacing the floor of Orihime's new room, the room he was so anxious to spend time with her in would be instead home to his worrying thoughts. Maybe not worrying, exasperated was a more appropriate word. He couldn't even begin to understand a person whose personality fluctuated more than that despicable human's reiatsu.

**_Ichigo Kurosaki._**

What a pestering human, invading Las Noches with his human counterparts it was a ridiculed plan among Lord Aizen and the espada yet somehow was coming together. He had succeeded in rescuing the girl, right from underneath Ulquiorra's nose. That insufferable _human_.

The word was already used with distaste by Ulquiorra, it would now be used with even more hatred. The species he loathed and thought nothing more as pieces of trash were causing him more trouble then he could have ever imagined. This was a problem for Lord Aizen as well, but Ulquiorra had been made her official care taker and with the way he had been caring for her as of late it was an even greater disaster. Grimmjow, Nnoitora, Gin Ichimaru, Lord Aizen who else knew of his unplanned and sometimes unwanted infatuation with the girl? It had probably spread throughout the espada as most things did. It would be consealed in a harmless conversation about the state of the prisoner, but beneath the formality of the discussion whispers of gossip and judgment were sure to be exchanged.

A knock at the door.

Worse timing couldn't have been planned. To walk in to a room not only without Orihime the person he was looking for but to come upon Ulquiorra in such a state of irritation. Since he too was

looking for her.

The door opened revealing a nonchalant and tiered looking Starrk.

"Hey, I'm looking for the girl"

"She isn't here"

"Did you LOSE her?"

A teasing voice came from behind Starrk as Lilinette poked her head out. Her helmet which resembled that of a Vasto Lorde was missing half of one of its two protruding white horns. She was dressedas loosely as Starrk's sense of responsibility and was looking at Ulquiorra with her pink sparkling eyes. Ulquiorra face showed little reaction to her question, so she asked it again.

"DID-YOU-LOSE-HERE, DUMBASS?" She was more irritated now at the espada for not responding to her and just looking all gloomy out onto the balcony where obviously something had happened their arrival. She didn't know what had happened, his disposition was never one that brought life in to the room but even for him this look of grief was a bit disturbing. There might as well have been three hollow wholes in his chest, all equal in their emptiness.

"Lilinette.. Shush, Ulquiorra, Lord Aizen-sama sent me to get her...Orihime.. he said that he needed... to speak with her right away" He was scratching his head as his orders came back into his headone word at a time. The complete lack of taking Lord Aizen's orders seriously was usual for Starrk, he was lazy but as loyal as a canine companion. He didn't talk much to Ulquiorra, he didn't talk much to anyone unless it was telling you to shut up or to point him to the nearest bed. Lilinette was the only person he talked to and even that was more along the lines of mindless bickering between sibings.

"Orihime, her current whereabouts are unknown." He couldn't finish the explanation there, no way in hell could he let the situation seem so out of control.

"I see.." Starrk didn't really know what to do since reporting bad news to Lord Aizen really only resulted in you helping the other espada move up a spot in the ranks.

"You'll find her though"

"Yes"

"Good, I'll be back in an hour or so.. See ya than"

"I will find the prisoner" Said as more of a promise to himself then to Starrk whose memory was already vague of why he had come there in the first place.

"No doubts here"

"I'm doubting you"

"Lilinette, shut up.. were leaving"

"Fine, See Ya Number 4" She gave Ulquiorra one last dirty look as a farewell gift and followed her partner outside of the room once more. Starrk stole one last look at Ulquiorra who was once more staring at that balcony with a frantic and distressed look in his eyes. He would be getting the girl back both for Lord Aizen's and his and Lilinette walked side by side making their way down the hall, Lilinette was the first to break the silence that was never awkward between the two of them.

"He seemed sad"

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"What do you mean?" The young girl looked up at Starrk trying to uncover the meaning of what he had said, since right now she wasn't sure how being sad could ever be considered a good thing.

"It means he's feeling something for once, it's good for him.. but I could be wrong"

"You're never wrong"

"No, but there's a first time for everything." He began lifted his left hand from his pocket and pulled a the jaw bone which sat like a collar around his neck.

"Just look at what he's gone through"

The two finished their chat which revealed that Ulquiorra was right about his relationship with Orihime being discussed among the arrancar of Las Noches. They made their way down the hall till theirfootsteps could no longer be heard and their reiatsu was much too far away for Ulquiorra to sense anymore.

He went on to the balcony again, he walked out imagining the conversation that must have taken place there between Orihime and Ichigo Kurosaki. His all seeing eye saw nothing, his body how ever could feel the heavy traces of reiatsu left by Ichigo. The feeling did not sit well with him and he immediately left the balcony and Orihime's new chambers slamming the door behind him. All that remained were twelve roses on the floor, scattered among broken glass and water. Ulquiorra would not let him escape, not with her.

* * *

"Inoue, you okay?"

Orihime and Ichigo were in a building in the rear of the palace, it seemed inconspicuous enough to rest there for a while and no arrancar, espada or others, were present. The two friends hadn't exchanged anything but a few short glances with one another since they had arrived and the tension between them was obvious. However obvious it was though, neither of them could seem to put their feelings into words, especially Orihime. She never was able to communicate with the people she loved in a sensible way, when she did make her point it always came at the end of a story. This was her approach with Ichigo.

"When I was young, I went to middle school always alone. Not sure if anyone would talk to me or want to be my friend. The longest days could always be endured because I knew I would see Sora when I got home. When he.. died" The word still couldn't come out with ease even after all the years they'd been apart. She struggled back tears but above that, fought even harder to let her heart be heard without hurting Ichigo. "I didn't have that person to look forward to seeing, that face that got me through the worst of days. You, you have been that person for me Kurosaki-kun but since I've been here and he.. He has made me feel that way Kurosaki-kun and it's something I can't ignore and I won't forget.

The He she didn't want to name for saying his name out loud would further her guilt. It could be understood by the circumstances of her arrival, and the earlier conversation they had had out on the balcony who she was talking about. Ichigo's back had been turned from Orihime when he had asked if she was okay, but he had turned around when she had finished answering him. His eyes were opened wide and confused not breaking their contact with her own. She looked at him pitifully, her hands lazily drooping at her sides, her eyes strained from holding back so many tears, her whole posture looked of defeat. She was worn from a battle her head had lost to her heart.

"I will always fight for you Inoue"

"But.. I don't want you to have to fight for me"

"This enemy were facing, it's too strong and too dangerous to be left alone. They want to destory Karakura Town! The home you care for above everything else, the home your friends and everyone you love calls their home too, can be forgotten.. but he can't?

"I haven't forgot about Karakura Town"

"Then why aren't you fighting this, fighting for your freedom! You can't.. they said you came here without force.. they said you betrayed us. I never believed them, don't prove them right! I know this fight won't be easy, this winter battle will test us all but.. I can't have your resolve be so shaken. You can't be so naive!"

She said nothing. She felt nothing. She wanted him to leave her alone, she wanted Kurosaki Ichigo to be out of her life for that moment more then anyone else. She didn't know why she hated him at that moment, maybe it was the things he said. The way he spoke to her, the tone he used, the words he chose, naive, it made her feel like the frightened little girl she was so desperately trying not to be. Ichigo was always coming to her rescue, she hated being so dependant on someone who was second guessing her very resolve.

Ichigo could tell he had crossed a line, he just wasn't sure when he had done it. She wasn't talking to him so he held out his hand, palm up, reaching for her hand to pull her in for another embrace which had worked at smoothing over their previous argument.

"Sōten Kisshun "

His hand couldn't get through her shield and it zapped his fingers with a sharp pain. He waved it off and yelled at her, trying to get his words through to her since his hand could not.

"Inoue, what are you doing?"

She had used her Sōten Kisshun to put up a shield around her, separating herself from Ichigo and the outside world even if it was just for a moment. The shield was meant for healing but her powers weren't so advanced that they could mend a broken resolve or hurting heart. Still, she sat there inside it's glow trying to figure out what she should do.

"Inoue please.. STOP THIS.. we need to go!" He raised his voice even louder, the desperation in his voice would usually have her in seconds, but this time she wasn't listening to anything he had to say.

She turned and sat down on a crate which her shield enveloped and crossed her arms facing away from him. Yes the act was childish but it was what made her feel for once in control of her own life and what was going to happen to her. As of late there was always someone predetermining her next move for her and she hated it. This immature act of what could only be seen as a child putting herself in a timeout, was Orihime's way of showing independence.

_What the hell does she think she's doing.. Inoue.. you may want to save him but by doing that you'll only kill us both_

Ichigo turned around, his body-length zanpaktou placed on his back brought out in front of him.

"Bankai!" He yelle.

He didn't know when he would be here, but the way Orihime had spoken of him Ichigo knew he wouldn't be alone with her for long. He could sense reiatsu without fault and someone like Ichigo who had an overflowing amount of spirit energy eminating from him would not be a hard target to locate. Their location was secret, but their arrival would not have been. He would be tracking them down til he foudn them and then he would fight Ichigo, and Inoue would..

He looked back at her, she was squeezing her forearms with her hands. Rocking gently back and forth trying to figure out what she would do. Ichigo wouldn't know her answer until his arrival, she wouldn't know her answer until his arrival.

"Damn You, Ulquiorra!"

* * *

"He's on his way!"

"He's on his way?"

"I told ya, tha guy is quick when he's chasing down his most valuable possessions"

"Indeed"

"But why did ya go get Starrk to be your errand boy and ask for her.. you knew she was already missing"

"Every game has a time limit Gin, I wanted to establish one for my players" Aizen tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair.

"We don't want this to get boring, do we?"


	16. The Most Devastating of Decisions

An untracable Ulquiorra used his sonido to pass by building after building, their off white colour becoming blurred with his incredible speed.

_Where are you, where is she, where are you_

The thoughts were constant questions repeating themselves in his head, they wouldn't shut up until he had achieved his goal of finding them both. Suddenly a dense spiritual pressure made him come to a stand still and he looked around for it's source. It didn't belong to Ichigo Kurosaki or Orihime so he really didn't care for it, however it's familiarity was not something he could ignore. If he didn't stop to face it it would only chase him down until he did.

"Grimmjow.."

"Ulquiorra! You speedy bastard I've been trying to get your attention for a while now"

"You have it"

"Kurosaki? You're after him too.."

Ulquiorra just looked at Grimmjow whose face wasn't lit up with his normal devilish smile. He looked at him with a serious look in his eye and one that was going to be followed with the asking of a favour.. well more of a demand coming from Grimmjow's mouth.

"Lemme fight him, I have to beat him.. You can go get the girl but Kurosaki is mine"

The two just stood face to face as the winds and sand of Las Noches blew by them. The blue sky and shining sun were misleading to those beneath this beautiful day's atmosphere, which was filled with hatred and deceit. Ulquiorra's thoughts were now beginning to quiet down as he considered the espada's proposal.

_Ridding myself of the human.. and getting back Orihime without killing him myself. If i could avoid him dying by my hands perhaps she would forgive me. There could be hope._

"Fine"

"Excellent, Your not as dumb as you look Ulquiorra!"

Grimmjow began to laugh and he gripped the hilt of his sword with so much pleasure at the thought of it cutting through Ichigo's flesh. Finally, those two would end their ongoing battle and the weak ass human would see who the king was. He'd cut through him and any others to be the strongest, even Ulquiorra, even Aizen. His sword would never be dull to anyone, it would cut with the same intensity and killing power everytime he fought. Destruction allowed him to rebuild a world according to his wants and desires.

"Let's go"

"I don't follow those beneath me"

"Oh yeah? since when has our prisoner been ranked above you?"

Grimmjow was a cocky bastard, but could he ever put Ulquiorra, his all seeing eye and his all saying mouth in it's place. Ulquiorra unwillingly followed him with his sonido and the two began searching again for the intruders. Grimmjow would get his bloodshed and Ulquiorra his.. what was she to him. Prisoner was sounding too petty now, she was so much more then that. She was that rare glimmer in his eye, that nonchillant grin on his face, the nervous shaking of his hands and the anxious trembling of his knees. She was the pain that burrowed deep in his chest, and the escape from an emptiness he once felt.

She was something so much more then a prisoner, she was his everything. His happiness, his humanity.. his heart.

The two espada continued to move forward trying to trace Ichigo's spiritual pressure which was somehow being masked for the time being. He would lose control though, this Ulquiorra knew, someone like him couldn't stay calm and level headed in the midst of a battle field. His excitement or fear, which ever came first, would get the better of him and his presense would be made known to them. Until then though he followed something he couldn't rely on fully but would have to be their guide in the mean time. His instinct. The strong and repeating feeling inside him that would lead them towards her, because that's what he was searching for, what he needed to find.

"Lord Aizen has requested a meeting with the girl, we need to find her soon"

"WE WILL! Cause I feel him, that disgusting spiritual pressure that just smothers you, It's close"

"You're sure?"

But Grimmjow had already made his way over to the storage facility before Ulquiorra could be assured. He was like a cat chasing after a mouse, Ulquiorra had to make sure he arrived at the same time as Grimmjow though. Or else he would involve two mice in his chase and that Ulquiorra could not allow.

* * *

Orihime was still seated on the box her shield covering her from any physical contact, which Ichigo was not appreciating. His voice was being hushed by the buzzing of the shield and since he could not touch her he couldn't get her attention, The direction she was facing was littered with piles of crates and boxes so he couldn't position himself in front of her. This was maddening, thoughts of Rukia's rescue found their way back into his mind, she had been unwilling and difficult at first too.. but this was just ridiculous. Orihime was not captured by her brother, or her friends or brought to the society she was born and raised in. She was in a foreign land with no attachments to anyone, other then to him.

_Ulquiorra.. Kurosaki-kun.. Ulquiorra... Kurosaki-kun_

The two names were bouncing back and forth in her head. Different emotions attached to each one of them some good, some bad, some just confusing and making her head hurt. She had an undying loyalty to Ichigo, to all her friends but Ulquiorra was not someone she could leave to die by the hands of these friends. Couldn't the fighting just stop for a day, one day where she could not worry of the fate of her friends lives or her own. Where their destinies weren't intertwined with a cycle of a never ending battle with new enemies coming into the picture just to be defeated and replaced by stronger ones. It was an existence she could now understand but not accept. It was one she needed to free herself from before she was in the midst of friendly fire.

"Well, well, well"

Cue friendly fire

There was a voice that pinched every nerve in her body and at such a high decible, was heard clearly through her shield. Their shadows stretched from the light of the doorway all the way onto her and Ichigo. One an arrancar with blue hair, bright blue eyes and a scar running down the centre of his torso. A smile made menacing by his fangs and it's over the top presence on his face, which was partially covered by a large white facial bone. He was leaning against the doorway, so happy, so blissful, as he unsheathed his sword.

"Kurosaki, we found you"

"Grimmjow.. Inoue run."

"I.. I got you into this I'll stay and fight"

"Inoue listen to yourself, suppose I take Grimmjow are you really going to take on the guy he's with?"

Tall and thin with a white jacket stretching down to his ankles this arrancar was much paler and more calm then the other. He had emerald green eyes and jet black hair which sat beneath half of a goth looking white helmet with a sharp horn. The expression on his face was cold and stern and he looked past Ichigo onto the girl who's eyes widened when she saw who he meant.

"Ulquiorra"

"I'm here for Orihime"

Grimmjow looked at the espada with wide eyes as he heard him call the prisoner by her first name. It was quite possibly one of the most bizzare and gut wrenching things he had ever witnessed, seeing compassion from Ulquiorra was so unsettling.

"Inoue.. Isn't going anywhere with you"

_Why did he call her by her first name? What's been going on between them dammit!_

Ichigo could not comprehend what was going on between the two of them. Inoue wanted to keep him safe, save his life if she could but was there really any life left in Ulquiorra to save?

"You can't fight us both at once, your death would be certain. You can fight Grimmjow while I leave with the girl, and if you defeat him you can come after us again"

Grimmjow snarled at the "defeat him" remark but pointed his sword at Ichigo. Ichigo looked back at Orihime mouthing the word "run" as he turned to face the two arrancar once more. Ulquiorra began to move towards them.

"You're not leaving with Inoue!"

Ulquiorra used his sonido to place himself right between Ichigo and Orihime. Orihime lowered her shield and stepped toward him looking to the side so she didn't have to make direct eye contact with him again.

"Inoue.. Orihime please! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"

Ichigo desperatly yelled to his friend as Grimmjow came from behind and swung his sword at Ichigo. He countered it easily with the speed of his bankai but still did not take his eyes off his friend. She can't choose him over her friends, she can't choose a hollow over a human, it can't be.

"Focus on me, KuroSAKI!" He grabbed Ichigo's collar and a cero began to form on his right palm. He shot it directly at Ichigo who released himself from Grimmjow's grip with his hand and dodged by flash stepping behind his opponent. With a swing of his sword he shot a Getsuga Tenshou at his back. Grimmjow cut the wave of black and red spiritual pressure in two with his sword and then shot a series of balla in Ichigo's direction.

"Woman, you need to come with me"

"I have to stay with Ichigo"

"The fact you were still so close to Las Noches, inside it infact clearly demonstrates you showed restraint in your rescue"

"I was waiting.."

"What for?

"You"

"And I am here, to take you back to meet with Lord Aizen. He has requested your presense"

"I'm not going back with you.. you're coming with me"

Her grey eyes were now looking up at him with a misleading assurance, she wasn't completely sure if she should even be asking this, again.

Ichigo flash stepped to aid his friend in the smoke created by Grimmjow's barrage of balla which never even landed a direct hit. Grimmjow was still caught up in the speed and ferocity of his attack waiting for Ichigo's broken and bleeding body to be laying on the ground in front of him when the smoke cleared. Ichigo put his arm out and blocked off Ulquiorra from getting any closer to her.

"I said you're not touching Inoue!"

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

Doning his mask the blast of spiritual pressure increased in size, velocity and power as it wiped out everything in front of it. This let in even more sunlight into the old storage facility as a huge gash was made in the wall where the much smaller doorway had once been. Grimmjow was standing outside of the building still holding his sword and waiting for Ichigo to come to him. He liked fighting in open spaces, it gave him even more angles to come at his enemy from.

"Remember Kurosaki that's a mask, meaning beneath it you're still just a useless soul reaper!"

Ichigo lunged at Grimmjow again having not seen or felt any traces of Ulquiorra. He figured he wasn't dead but he couldn't keep switching between his fight with Grimmjow and protecting Orihime. Finishing the fight would be the best way to protect her so he would fight Grimmjow with everything he had. Their swords clashed with sparks and the sound of blades screeching and screaming at one another filld the dusty air as they tried to determine whose weilder was stronger.

Inoue had used her Santen Kesshun to keep herself from receiving direct contact with Ichigo's insane spritual pressure, but was finding herself coming into contact with an even stronger one.

_"Ulquiorra"_ she thought

It was further back in the building so she creeped away from the battle scene before Ichigo could notice and take his attention away from the fight at hand. She followed it intentively thinking she knew exactly who it belonged to. Getting him alone could give her the time she needed to convince him finally of the choice he needed to make. The choice every fiber in her body was telling her needed to be made or else she could never leave this place without regret.

She came to a doorway with steps leading up to the second or third level of the storage facility. She didn't know how high she had climbed but the time and effort put in by her was no easy feat. There was sweat dripping from her brow and her calves were aching as her footsteps continued onward. Her breaths were becoming short and quick and it was becoming harder for her to move through the dense spiritual pressure. It belonged to him that was for sure, but it had a sense of urgency to it, like it was being forced out to bring her in as soon as possible.

"You're sure she'll come?"

"Yes, sensing my spiritual pressure she would use this time to talk to me"

"Ah i see, with her other lover being distracted and all"

Behind Orihime only five or six steps a shadow lurked in the dark, a hand reached out trying to grab her and pull her back but missed at the last second. She turned around to see who was there but nothing was there, someone had been there she was sure of it, but they were gone now. She felt her anxiousness starting to get the better of her so she ran up the remaining stairs to the doorway. The mysterious figure appeared once more this time grabbing a hold of her and cupping his hand around her mouth. She couldn't scream and have it be heard so she shifted her eyes sideways to see who it was. Some words were whispered into here ear, a warning to what was about to happen and how she should handle it. Then just as she was about to speak to the shadowed figure the realization that she was once again alone set in. She began to push open the large white door infront of her, however the slight pressure she put on it caused an automatic reaction and the room before her became visible.

It was haunting, disturbing and all around...familiar.

She walked out onto the balcony where Ulquiorra had been killed.

This time another face just as wicked and just as cruel was standing with Ulquiorra.

"Ichimaru-sama..."

"Ah, I'm lucky I ran into you!"

His silver hair had the ends lightly covering his eyes and he looked upon Orihime with a grin. The man was playing the fool as if he really considered their meeting to be out of luck, he was standing on the upper level of the building right next to Ichigo and Grimmjow's fight. It was no surprise that Orihime would be found with the soul reaper right after she had gone missing from her new chambers.

"You see we had a deadline for your return and.. well I had the utmost convidence in Ulquiorra but you know how Captain Aizen can get"

"No I don't"

One beat.

"Beg yer pardon?"

"I'm only here because i'm taking Ulquiorra and were leaving this place"

"Oh really?" Gin's smirk was now gone and the playfulness to his voice had been replaced with a tone of annoyance.

"Why do ya think that Orihime?"

"I know because, my heart told me so"

"Ch, and here i thought you had a reliable source" Gin looked back at Ulquiorra who was leaning over the balcony watching Grimmjow and Ichigo continue their fight. Grimmjow had not released his sword yet but was beginning to show signs of fatigue. He wouldn't be able to sustain his strength without using his resureccion soon. That mask of Ichigo's was too great of an advantage for him to win without using his released form.

"Can't ya handle this for me Ulquiorra? She's your responsibility and all"

Orihime looked onto him as he walked over to her, his head still turned towards the fighting going on below them.

He stopped just a few steps away from her and moved his line of vision from the battle field to her own two eyes. Without breaking their eye contact he began to unsheath his sword so the silver blade was now just inches away from Orihime's heart. The slightest movement by either one of them could cause the blade to penetrate her heart and kill her instantly. He spoke softly, his voice hushed enough so the conversation between them would only be heard by their ears alone.

"Just let this go, this fantasy of us being together"

"I want to make it my reality"

"Don't be so foolish.. infront of others" He looked back at Gin who was looking down at the battle, showing no apparent interest in their conversation, so he continued. His voice was even lower now.

"Go back to your chambers. There we can further discuss this matter."

"Will you say yes?"

A pause that would normally be for dramatic effect was being used instead for Ulquiorra to sort out his feelings. However not much sorting had to be done because he knew the answer, he knew the answer from the beginning, before she had even followed his spiritual pressure all the way up to the balcony. Before Ichigo had arrived and ran off with her. Before he had gathered the 12 roses to decorate her room with something as beautiful as her. Before, he had even realized what was happening to him.

He looked off to the side and smiled his little grin. "Why do you do this to me woman?"

He nodded his head in response to her question.

"First you must fufill your duty"

"What..?"

"Kill me"

"What are you saying.. Ori-"

"Orihime Inoue, prisoner of Lord Aizen and his subordinates, I am prepared to die for my soul! For my heart! For you Ulquiorra!"

"Enough!"

Ulquiorra put away his sword quickly and turned away from Orihime. He looked at Gin who was smiling at the two of them. Facing them like a man who had nothing to hide and knew far more then he was letting on.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ulquiorra rose his voice. His emotions were not going to remain subdued in such a volatile situation.

Gin flashstepped and grabbed Ulquiorra by the collar, dragging him over to the edge of the balcony once more so he could get a clear angle at what was not seen before. Orihime. Orihime was standing down below them watching Ichigo fight, her hands clasped and pressed against her chest looking worried and pathetic as ever. Looking like well, the real Orihime.

"Don't ya see! She didn't come up to ya, thinking she would follow your spiritual pressure all the way up here? She's still down there with him"

Ulquiorra still in Gin's grip looked back at the illusion of Orihime which was smiling back at him, that same identical smile which had drawn him in just moments ago. That smile was now something he felt abandoned by, a reminder of his eternal emptiness. It was a broken promise and a lost battle he wasn't prepared to lose.

* * *

Aizen stood in the storage facility beneath Gin, Ulquiorra and the illusion of Orihime.

"My, my I've never used Kyoka Suigetsu's power on such a wide range. Having to create two copies of the same person in two different areas, while the real one still decides."

Orihime had been warned, she had been warned that if she continued up the stairs onto the balcony to see Ulquiorra then they would kil him. However if she returned back down the stairs to Ichigo he would die instead. Aizen had whispered the ultimatum into her ear so softly it had been like two sugar coated daggers stabbing her in the heart. She sat on the steps just a few feet away from a huge white door arms wrapped around her knees as she bent back her neck and hit her head off of the wall. She heald it there as she looked up to let the tears poor down her face in clean lines rather then soak into her dress.

"I reject" She said softly. Heartbroken by the decision she had worked so hard to avoid, but was now faced with.

"Kurosaki-kun..Ulquiorra-sama...I reject, I can't do it!" She screamed, the echoe of her voice traveling down the stairwell to the open door below. Her words were carried right into Aizen's ear as he smiled at the shriek of sheer pain.

He was relieved to see that his game was being taken seriously by its players.

He turned toward the doorway as he remembered the last thing he had told her before he left her to come to a deicision.

"Choose shortly Orihime, for if you do not have an answer when I return... they both die"


	17. A Wound for the Head & Heart

Orihime kept her eyes closed as she regained consiousness. She started to open them but felt a sharp pain above her left eye when she tried to. She sighed and felt the area gently with her hand, there was a 4 inch gash just above her eyebrow. The sharp pain from making contact with the cut left her hand hovering beside it. It was the first physical pain she had had to endure since coming to Las Noches. All the rest was psychological and emotional torment, which in her opinion made the pain from the gash fade into nothing but a tiny prick.

_The pain. The gash. Where did it come from?_

"What.. happened? Did I fall out of bed?"

She shut her eyes even tighter realizing that when she opened them there would be no bedroom before her. The creases around them acting like waterways as the tears left her eyes. They drizzled down her cheek and when she finally opened them her worst fears were confirmed.

"No,No,NO! Please.."

Like a bad dream she had wanted to forget what had happened, what she had been faced with. But it had never been that easy for her.

She looked around at her bleak and unchanged surroundings, a dark stairway with chalk white stairs and walls. There were torches lined up and down the stairwell which dimly lit the area but still, it wasn't the kind of place she could make such a big decision in. Such a heartbreaking choice that would surely bring a burden to her shoulders that her frame and state of mind would never be able to support. She turned her body left and right before standing up and placing her hand once more on her cut.

_How did I get this?_

She thought back into her foggy memories of the past ten minutes and no answers were coming to mind. It was like her brain had just stopped for that short period of time and nothing had registered. She tried pulling answers out of thin air which got her nowhere but sitting back on the ground her head in her hands. She was further down the stairs now, she had fallen down atleast six or serven of them. Realizing this she began to feel the aching of her sides, legs and arms which had been bounced down the stairs while she was unconsious.

Two words came to her mind which had no real connection between them at first though, but she patched together the series of events from only moments ago. She would retell the story to herself.

_Footsteps. Fear._

She had been frightened of the sound of echoing footsteps coming from the stairs. She didn't know if they were coming from above or below so she had stayed right where she was until it became clear they were coming from below.

_It has to be Aizen_

She had thought so she did whatever she could to buy herself time. She began running up the stairs to the top, she had forgotten Ulquiorra was there in her fear of Aizen so she didn't think of what she would find when she arrived there. Her footsteps felt heavy, like she was going nowhere because the stairs just wouldn't end it was awful she heard a low voice beckon out her name. The chills on the back of her neck in contrast to the heat forming in her chest made her run even faster. A slit of light hit her in the eye as she arrived on the last few stairs before the door.

She ran to the door and almost burst through it when she heard another voice, which made her body react in the same way but her heart skip a beat as well.

Ulquiorra.

That voice made her hopeful even if it was just for a second and she began to open the door more when she heard a voice talk back to him. It was her own voice, Ulquiorra was talking to her out on the balcony. But she wasn't with him, it was Aizen. This was all an illusion by Aizen but did he know that? Did he think he was really talking with her right now, what should she do?

The time limit was a factor in her decision so Orihime behaved in an unconventional but very necessary way.

"Ulquiorra-sama! Listen to me I need you to ru-"

She lost him.

"Ulquiorra-sama.."

He heald her against the wall, his hand on her throat holding it in place but not suffocating her. His sword was in his other hand and it was aimed right at her heart he looked at her with no sense of kindness or compassion in his eyes. She couldn't see anything, they were empty no emotion could be traced within them.

"Please let me-" She whispered out words trying to not let the situation scare her or the fact she would be caught by Aizen any moment affect her.

The other Orihime stood off to the side just smiling that sympathetic and hopeful smile Orihime knew all too well herself. She looked at the illusion then back to Ulquiorra telling him of Aizen's deceit.

"That isn't me! I was never with you up here until now.. This.. this is the real me!"

"I am aware and done listening to you. You thought that human kindness could change who I am, your heart is as naive as your mind. You try and befriend, like, love everyone but in your need to show compassion you lose your own sense of pride. You rely on others, and when they try and rely on you... you fall back in to the arms of someone with real strength... letting them down and yourself."

"You're worthless, woman"

His words sank in slowly and without a shread of kindness. He was right. She was worthless, a waste of space. No one ever counted on her, no one ever relied on Orihime when they were in the heat of battle. It was just like Mr. Urahara-san had said.. the battle field was no place for her and lately her whole world was an ongoing war. A war she had no place in, her own life had become too much for her.

"I.. I need you to listen"

He looked down at his sword. She swore she had see the tiniest bit of temptation in his eyes, to kill her then and there. Enough of her begging and excuses, just be done with her and her pathetic existense.

"I rely on you, I need you. I can't leave here without you. Knowing you have to fight my friends. Knowing my friends have to fight the person I care about-"

"ENOUGH!" he raised his voice and the sharpness of his tone was superior to the sharpness of his own blade.

"You can't smother people with your apologies and words of devotion to try and win them back everytime. You chose him! You chose to be the kind of person I knew you were all along. A lowly human."

"If I chose him, then why I am here, now. With you." She hadn't made the choice Aizen had told her she had to make. She really hadn't even thought it through. He wasn't there yet though and she needed to get Ulquiorra to run. If he ran then she could reunite with Ichigo and then they would run. And then Ichigo would take her to see Ulquiorra because she wouldn't leave without him or she could stay in Las Noches or she could..

Just shut up! She told her own thoughts trying to make the best of a worst case scenario.

The moment she was in right now had her heart reacting and speaking for her. She was lost in his words and needed to find a way out. There was something much more powerful then words after all.  
She put her hand on his own, the warmth of it loosened his hold on her neck. His sword was hung loose and downward in his hand as he looked at her trying to read the unreadable girl. She looked at his emerald eyes shining, glossed over from an effort to fight off tears. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. Closing her eyes she kissed him with the passion of all her words and the warmth of all her heart. Ulquiorra who could make her feel like her life was pointless and meaningless was also the only person to make her ever feel that alive.

* * *

"Inoue! Inoue! Where are you!"

Ichigo, who had been running up the stairs where he thought he sensed her presense was calling out to his friend. He had defeated Grimmjow and was worn out from the battle. His initial release of his zanpaktou had given Ichigo only a few broken pieces left of his hollow mask intact. Their battle had worn him out and it was even more difficult for him to know that he had defeated his enemy yet Inoue had gone missing once again. He had seen her behind him a number of times during the fight, looking back at her when he had a moment to make sure she was alright. She had been. She seemed unafraid, unfazed by the battle going on in front of her. There was no worry in her eyes, which lead Ichigo to believe that something was definitely wrong with his friend.

"Inoue, please! Answer me!"

"Ah, ah, ah, we can't have ya ruining their moment"

"What are you.. where's Inoue?"

"If you're going to intrude you should atleast have the decency to listen to tha owners of the place you are intruding, right Aizen?"

Ichigo turned around to face the two ex-captains, he had seen them only once before on top of Sokyoku hill but to see them again and now his fate was no better then that day. He was clinging to an inner strength which could only get him so far, he couldn't take on two captains. But he would have to.

He made his stance with Tensa zangetsu in hands, he prepared himself.

Aizen grabbed his sword with his hand and snapped the blade in half.

"Words will suffice just fine Kurosaki Ichigo, now follow me"

Ichigo still stunned, unable to move with no sword and a dwindling strength, what choice did he have. He would keep his distance, he would figure out something. He would fight and defeat them both and save Inoue. His mind had been made up and his resolve had never been one to crumble beneath the pressures of a clear disadvantage. He would win because he had to, there was no other thought in his mind as he gained his composure and found the strength to continue up the stairs.

He didn't speak but followed the two captains as they walked up the stairs coming to a doorway opened enough for a single person to put their eye beside it and see what was on the other side. Aizen motioned Ichigo to do so and he did as the last pieces of his hollow mask crumbled and fell to the ground at his feet. He looked out onto a sunny balcony, one who staged a sight he couldn't prepare himself for.

"What is this.."

Inoue was embraced by Ulquiorra's arms, the two seemed unseperable. The espada noticed Ichigo but didn't make it known to Orihime of the arrival of her friend.

"What was it you said earlier woman?"

"What I.. Oh if I chose him, then why I am here, now. With you?" She searched Ulquiorra's face to see if this is the answer he wanted to hear, it was.

"She chose.. She chose him! No Inoue.. I don't believe this"

He turned around to question the two former captains, prepared to blame them for this deceit but they were gone.

"How could she.. how could she.." Ichigo clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in the unforgivable turn of events.

* * *

Gin and Aizen had left shortly after bringing Ichigo to the doorway. After Aizen had motioned him to see what was on the other side the two slipped away and then returned to Aizen's throne room. There they were standing on a balcony overlooking the sands of Las Noches. Gin had one elbow on the ledge peering out at a world that he had a hand in taking control of. He looked at his former captain with unease, he was usually the quickest to determine his actions but even he was confused.

"Lord Aizen.. I know you have a master plan and all but... wasn't one of em supposed to die?"

"Yes, I thought that would be the best way to end the game"

"But?"

"But living with the betrayal of a friend is a pain much more prolonged and excrutiating then death.. and the game couldn't end just yet"

"Hmmm.. seems to me she never told ya her choice.."

"I think it has been seen by you and I and now the ryoka boy. She made her choice."

"But was it tha right one?"

* * *

_In his arms. That's the last place I was._

Why was she here now though, what had happened after they talked and.. kissed. She was still missing the last four to five minutes of the story, moments which she knew must have been crucial.

Orihime rose from the stairs and went to the balcony again since that had been the last place she had seen Ulquiorra, she was hoping he had not left without her.

"Starrk-sama?"

Starrk and Lilinette were on the balcony looking around aimlessly and turned around as they heard the young girl's voice. Starrk looked surprised at her first to see her but then remembered how he had been told to look for her.

"Oh, I was looking for you"

"WE were looking for you EVERYWHERE! Lord Aizen wants to see you" Lilinettte yelled out.

"I believe.. I already had my meeting with Lord Aizen"

"Hmm, you don't suppose you would like a second one? I feel kinda bad I didn't bring you to him myself.."

"Where's Ulquiorra-sama?" Orihime asked, ignoring Starrks plea to keep him from seeming irresponsible.

"Oh you.. He was killed.. last I heard he was fighting some kid shinigami"

"Wha-What.."

"His spiritual pressure rose to an intensity never heard of before.. and then vanished, apparently the fighting began right here."

Orihime looked around the balcony which was now filled with craters and debri. And like the ruins around her, the last four to five minutes came crashing back into her mind instantaneously.

"I'm sorry Starrk-sama, but I have to go"

"What?Where?" Starrk looked surprised at the girl as Lilintette stood with her mouth in a small "o" shape as she was also shocked by the prisoner's actions.

"You know Starrk's number one right?" Lilinette asked in a matter of fact tone which she thought would cause the girl to turn on her heels.

"I'm sorry, I have to leave now... If I'm going to save them both" But Orihime's feet were only headed in one direction.

"Both?"

"Ulquiorra-sama and... Kurosaki-kun, I remember now!"

"Of all the bullshit... what are you even talking about ya nut bar?" Lilinette crossed her arms and swayed her hip to the side.

But Orihime was already off down the stairs, running as fast she could.

"Ya just gonna let her leave Starrk?"

"I have to."

"Oh yeah, why's that?"

"Direct orders, from Lord Aizen"

She couldn't believe it her strategy had worked, my god what they had planned in those last four to five minutes had worked.

And she would now go and see the finished resut. Ulquiorra and Ichigo alive.


	18. A Plan Put Into Action

"How peculiar... you're taking the side of a traitor to protect an enemy?"

Ulquiorra shook his head at Ichigo as the shinigami walked ahead of him along the outside wall of one of the many buildings in Las Noches. Ichigo stayed a few paces ahead of Ulquiorra to not let him have the upper hand if he were planning anything. He could counter him, well no he couldn't. The exhaustion of using his flashstep just to get this far away from Orihime on top of his still broken sword were not two handicaps he could just disregard.

"I came here to rescue Inoue" He paused still annoyed at the situation.

"And I'll trust her until she's the one holding the sword that's pointed at me"

"I have sheathed my sword for her sake.. I care for an end to her suffering"

"Yeah?" he tilted his head back and looked at the espada up and down. There was a motive behind this, there had to be a bigger picture then what he was able to see. There was something going on, maybe with Aizen and Gin or all the other espada. He would betray her because that's what all hollows did; no matter how human he looked Ulquiorra was still that monster that Ichigo had killed hundreds of times before. He was the monster that threatened lives and valued suffering and death and feeding off the life of human beings. It was infuriating the way he thought he could end her suffering by keeping her from her friends and her home and the life she had before being brought to Hueco Mundo. He made her life which was once so full, so vibrant, it was envied by all, as empty as his own.

"Her suffering will end Ulquiorra... or yours will begin"

* * *

_It worked!_

Orihime was running through a hallway which she couldn't tell from any other, but she knew it was the right one. Adrenelaine pumping through her veins pushing out all worry that had been in her mind before as she raced through building after building to find the spot. The spot they would meet at, the planned destination for a reunion. One she was still apprehensive but overwhelmingly happy to be a part of.

She replayed the last four minutes as she had the other six in her mind to pass the time by faster than her legs could carry her.

"How could she" A voice caught Inoue's ear as she gently broke free from Ulquiorra. He turned his head to the left looking away from her and what she was about to see. He didn't want to see the glee on her face that was sure to be there when she spotted Kurosaki Ichigo. He walked to the side to observe rather than be a roadblock in their desired reunion.

"Kurosaki-kun.. you need to run.. but you should have passed him on the stairs... Wh-Where's Lord Aizen-sama?"

Ichigo was still behind the door as he opened it slowly not looking at her because the rage in his eyes was not something that would sit well with Orihime. He raised them to look at Ulquiorra who made direct eye contact with him then looked back at Orihime. She had her hands clasped close to her chest and she looked at him with a look of worry and disbelief.

_He should have ran into Aizen.. he was in the stairwell or was it_..

"Were you calling out to me? If it was you then we stil have time to run-"

"How could you?"

"Kuro-"

"EVERYONE has sacrificed so much for you Inoue.. and you would cast us aside so quickly.. choose him above everything, above everyone..."

The tiniest grin had appeared on Ulquiorra's lips as he listened to the human's desperation. It was the faintest bit amusing to see that he wouldn't be able to beat Ulquiorra in a fight or in this matter. Ulquiorra began to think which he cared more for, defeating his biggest threat or winning his greatest asset. The two went hand in hand he decided.

"You're a traitor Inoue, Soul Society was right."

"One more chance"

Whose eyes went wider, Ulquiorra's or Ichigo's? They both were equally shocked at her request. Ulquiorra was stunned because of the conversation they had just shared moments ago. If she was choosing him then why on earth would she be asking Ichigo for one last chance. Her fickle behaviour and resolve tilting back and forth constantly enraged and intrigued him. Humans could be such curious creatures. And this one pricked his interest far more than all the others.

He used his sonido to grab her arm and then took her to the other side of the balcony, out of ear shot of Kurosaki Ichigo. He stared at her blankly waiting for her to gush on about how Ichigo was part of her soul, infused to her heart a being so close to her she couldn't just give him up. She would make an excuse for that excuse and the cycle would spin so rapidly nausea would set in momentarily. It was sickening how she dragged him in just to let him fall back out of reach once more.

"Orihime"

"Ulquiorra" Her voice was sweet and had a tone to it he hadn't heard before. It had confidence to it, an assuredness he couldn't help but believe.

"You tell me I'm weak, I run away from my problems and I'm useless to my friends. You've hurt me with your words but never with your hands.. -and "she began to tear up remembering the decision she was trying to prevent.

"You will get hurt because of me, because I bring a weakness even you aren't strong enough to protect"

She looked at him and leaned in to his slim chest as it rose up and down slowly with each nervous breath. His heart was racing but why wouldn't it? She was asking the unthinkable from him.

"I need you to run"

"Ch, with you?"

Inoue smiled and giggled to herself at the next thing she would say "No.. him"

She pointed at Ichigo who was standing straight, looking off to the side and once more back at the two of them as he listened to his friend.

"If you two make it look like you fought.. and then Ulquiorra you release a massive amount of spiritual pressure then hide it.. then they could think you're dead.. and-

"He can leave this place without anyone ever knowing"

"Yeah.." Orihime blushed as Ichigo finished her strategy for her. She thought it had been quite ingenious but obviously it was quite simple and not a code that needed any effort to crack.

"Where will we meet?" Ichigo added in, seemingly agreeable to the plan that was about to take effect.

"My new chambers, you both know where they are"

"It'll be the first place they expect" Ulquiorra said in a voice none too convinced of Orihime's strategy, but supportive of her nonetheless.

"And by the time we get there they will be long gone" She winked at him not sure why she was so self-assured, the plan was nothing short of a fool's goal and wasn't in any way close to the mastery of what Lord Aizen could cook up. Ichigo sighed at the wink Orihime shared with Ulquiorra, the interaction between them was just so, unimaginable. He looked at Ulquiorra who turned his head, looking past Orihime and on to Ichigo's frustrated expression.

"Inoue, my sword has.." He looked down at it guiding both Ulquiorra and Orihime's eyes to the broken blade. He didn't want to say it out loud so he showed them rather than having to verbally admit such a plight.

"You'd be disadvantaged with or without that" Ulquiorra hissed beneath his breath as Orihime walked to the doorway. The two adversaries walked to the centre of the balcony facing one another, then turned their backs. Pretending to actually fight would most certainly lead to actually fighting so they would just focus their blows on the surrounding area, and not each other. Ichigo's half sword swung at a column on the balcony and a sharp chip of rock flew off. Ulquiorra saw this from the corner of his eye and used sonido to block its path which was headed straight for Orihime.

"Idiot" Ulquiorra raised a finger and let out a small beam of focused green cero, vaporizing the piece of stone.

"Inoue... sorry" Ichigo noticed his irresponsibility and pardoned himself, then continued onward as he pushed off with all the force and spiritual pressure he had left to go off in the direction of their meeting place. A few more columns crumbled with the fore of his spiritual pressure.

"It's okay, Kurosaki-kun" He hadn't heard her but she didn't regret saying it. She would always accept Ichigo's apologies; even if the rock had hit her she would have welcomed his sorry with much compliance.

"Thank you, Ulquiorra-sama" He turned back to look at her as she walked further into the doorway and began to shut it. She didn't close it all the way so she could see him one last time before he left, just in case this ridiculous plan of hers failed. The last thing she saw would be him following her orders, what could be more perfect of a scene. He took off after Ichigo and emitted far too much spiritual for Orihime as she felt herself lose balance on the top step right before she lost consciousness. The balcony was now in pieces but Orihime's resolve was finally starting to come together.

_A cut, a measly little cut, the pain I gained from this is so little to what I could face_

Orihime was naïve and foolish but never with decisions that involved her heart. Which is why she was doing everything in her power to avoid having to make the decision altogether. Avoidance was a path she chose over heartbreak any day.

She continued running and turned the corner down a hallway which was the most familiar looking so far. Not because of the white washed walls, the cold blue tile floor or the torches emanating a light far more romantic then they intended. It was familiar because the two people who nearly tore her apart were together, awaiting her arrival.


	19. Hostilities of Home

**A/N: **Soo this is just a thought but when you get to the *** you could start playing "Torn Apart" from the bleach soundtrack it's easy to find on youtube!

It's just for added emotion and i know i haven't done it with any other chapters! I just pictured the scene to this song :)

* * *

"You know what I hate, Gin?"

"What do ya hate? Other then glorified shinigami telling ya how to obey and behave?"

Aizen let out a low and undertone chuckle at Gin's jab at the temerity of the corrupted captains who once called him their ally.

"Fate" Aizen was in a room that was enveloped in darkness except for three candles shining faintly before him. He gazed at their wicks as the wax melted down the sides of them. The black candles which were the colour of licorice had his attention focused, but not entirely, he continued speaking with Gin.

"I hate it because even the greatest authority cannot control fate, it happens in a place that's inbetween even our different worlds. It's invisible to all the senses and the mind,heart and soul. You only see it when it chooses to be seen and even then it's not in any true form. It takes time to build it's strength, taking only small and trivial effect but it eventually will bring things, people, even worlds together. Or cut them apart. I see it as a sword, Gin. You are either dealt the end with the hilt, holding it comfortably in your grip. Or the end with the blade, having it pierce through your hand."

"Which end are we holdin'?" Gin stepped forward into the light to give him an even creepier disposition with the eary glow.

"I don't know, But i will wield this sword"

Aizen licked his fore finger and thumb, he snuffed out one candle after the other. The room was now completely in darkness. Gin left his friend without another word.

Aizen would see where fate took his game pieces, however the world was still his game board and no anomalies would keep him from finishing his game.

* * *

A plan that was not foolproof having it been planned by a fool herself was underway. Orihime walked slowly over to her friends looking from one face to the next. The situation was awkward, uncomfortable and all together weird but no one was dead! Which gave her hope that no one would have to die, for her sake.

She stopped just ahead of the them, her cheery attitude not translating too well to the two men who were probably picturing eachother's corpses laying beside them instead of the real thing. Both of them wanted Orihime to start the conversation but she just smiled and obviously intended for one of them to break the silence. Again, another one of Orihime's ingenious plans.

"Orihime"

"Inoue"

They spoke at the same time ending up saying nothing else but her full name which made her think maybe it would be best if she lead once more.

"Kurosaki-kun, Ulquiorra-sama thank you for coming.. you both, what you've done means alot to me"

"Inoue, can I talk to you?" Ichigo saw the chance and used it to be the first to speak with Orihime alone at their(in the mean time) base of operations.

He opened the door to her chambers and they both walked in, her following him. She looked at Ulquiorra who she caught glaring at the back of Ichigo's head and abruptly changing the direction of his eye contact to the floor. She sighed knowing that just because she saw something irreplacable in them both didn't mean they thought of eachother in an indisposable manner.

She walked in to the spacious living area taking in it's surroundings once more. It really was an improvement from her old cell, the open windows filling the air with a warm wind and sunshine added to it significantly.

She turned around to tell Ulquiorra he should come into the room as well, her and Ichigo could just go out on the balcony or into her bedroom. She decided on the balcony. He was apprehensive about coming in but assured by her smile and the touch of her hand on his sleeve, tugging at it to get him to follow her inside. He shut the door behind him and leaned against it staring at Orihime, awaiting her (hopefully brief) confrontation with Ichigo.

Ichigo already had went out on to the balcony figuring it would be the most appropriate place for them to talk. He passed the table and chairs set up infront of the entranceway to the balcony, nothing was out of place although it felt as though something was missing. When he had looked inside momentarily for Orihime to find him there had been a centerpiece on the table. Something romantic, a rose perhaps however it was no where to be seen now.

He continued out onto the balcony, letting out a long breath as he had been so hopeful and excited to see his friend the last time the two of them were out there. Orihime walked over noticing the missing centrepiece as well, she peered back at Ulquiorra through her hair but didn't make direct eye contact with him. Sharing a look with him at this point could make her leave Ichigo out on that balcony forever, waiting for a girl thad had made up her mind.

"Kurosaki-kun"

"Inoue, are you coming with me?"

*******She had to be honest. If she wasn't honest with him their relationship would only be built up upon lies from now on. Either way she was going to hurt him, it would just be sooner instead of later.

"Kurosaki-kun, I'm staying with Ulquiorra.. but if you let us come.. or get us back to the real world.. it could work, really I think it could"

"You want to take him.. back to the real world, Karakura town. Our home?"

Ichigo refused to look at her he just rubbed both hands through hair and messed it around as if the stimulation would make sense of the situation. He could talk to her anytime, alone or not and her answer would not change. He was figuring that out the hard way, and it would just keep getting harder for him.

"Orihime-"

Ulquiorra appeared suddenly behind her, the speed of his sonido never ceasing to amaze her. His presense only worsened an already bleak situation.

Ichigo used his own flashstep to pin Ulquiorra against the wall, his forearm on his neck as Ulquiorra stared blankly at him.

"KUROSAKI-KUN NO!"

"I HAVE TO! Inoue.. I can't, I can't let you make this mistake.. you don't know what you're saying! They've tricked you! Why can't you see that!"

"Please... Ichigo,st-stop"

"I GAVE YOU A CHANCE, I gave you so many chances Inoue and all you do, all you think about is yourself.. what have they done to you!" He darted his eyes to his friend who was using every ounce of her will power to not go inbetween the two men and release Ulquiorra from Ichigo's grip.

_What if things get out of hand and I have to.._

"I don't want to fight you"

"FIGHT me?" a pained voice hit her hard. He was near tears, the water in his eyes making his vision blurred as the pressure he was putting on Ulquiorra's neck intensified.

"Inoue.. please don't.. don't do this" Ichigo's words were breathless and chocked back.

"Let go of him"

She heald out her hands in a supposed battle stance, they were shaking uncontrolably. She was no warrior and her only weapon right now was her words for they seemed to be doing a lot more damage to Ichigo then anything. With her palms facing forward and her eyes focused on Ulquiorra, Ichigo was lost in the backwards world he now found himself in.

_Inoue.. protecting the espada.. just a hollow a lowly hollow.. like.._

"Hollows ate your brother's soul Inoue! They killed his spirit as he watched over you.. and he's one of them!"

She bent forward pushing away an invisble force with her left hand and bringing her right hand up to her heart.

"Sora is safe now though! You saved him Ichigo when he was a hollow.. you helped me break his mask and reach into the part of his soul that was still human!"

"Ulquiorra.. isn't human at all though!"

"He cares about me.. he's saved my life.. he shows compassion! Doesn't that make him human!"

Ulquiorra was silent at this comment. He didn't appreciate nor did he oppose it. He didn't know how he felt about it, it was almost as if she was not only convincing Ichigo with her words but him as well.

Orihime finished, she was breathless and tense. Her lip was quivering as she looked around running her hand through her strawberry hair. The adrenelaine was pumping through her as she kept her composure while infront of them both.

Ichigo put his head beside Ulquiorra's, leaning his forehead against the wall and speaking into his ear. Ulquiorra closed his eyes preparing to unsheath his sword and take off the arm whose force was crushing his windpipe. This human would not get the better of him, infact he was using an inner strength he didn't know he had to keep from crushing the life out of this piece of trash. Something was whispered into his ear.

Orihime pleaded with Ichigo one last time, it would probably the last time she ever spoke to him.

"I need to help him, he's been lost.. empty without me. And I've never felt so right in my entire life. When he's with me there's this look in his eyes like he really is-"

"Alive"

Ulquiorra finished her setence as he grabbed Ichigo's fore arm and squeezed it with enough pressure to make Ichigo release him. He wriggled his neck adjusting to the lifted weight and walked towards Orihime. Ichigo stood still, his limbs limp as his arms hung at his side. He was defeated by Ulquiorra without a scratch. This battle had far deepers wounds that would need mending.

"Inoue"

"Kurosaki-kun please at least look at me one last time.."

"No.. Inoue"

His tone was serious and frigid. He didn't look at her as she had wanted, and he wouldn't as he turned around his back to them both.

"Because the next time I look at you, it can't be at his side"

And with that a flashstep took him away. The faint bits of reiatsu which she used to hold close to her heart were now burning the ends of her fingers. He was not a friend anymore. She had made friends with the enemy and an enemy out of her first love.

"Kurosaki-kun.."

"We should go inside now this balcony has become a place stained with his reiatsu.. it's not a place we should be"

Orihime didn't speak she was facing him with her body but not her head. It was turned to the direction in which Ichigo flashatepped away. She ran her tongue along the bottom of her teeth and swallowed hard as she had nothing to say to his comment.

"I didn't think he would.. never.. want..*sniff*..Ulquiorra please.."

It took two quick strides and then she was embraced by his long arms. she tugged at his collar with both her hands as she searched for comfort in the white fabric. She faced her room looking inside as Ulquiorra stared out into the deserted sands of Las Noches.

A dark cloaked soul reaper hung in the air about fifteen feet away. He looked back at them both, gazing upon his friend one last time. He didn't need to get stronger to win this battle. He didn't know what he needed to ensure victory, it was a memory that would haunt him for quite some time before his heart would heal.

Ulquiorra looked at Ichigo with his emerald green eyes. They met Ichigo's determined brown eyes as he flashstepped away this time completely out of sight and range. Ulquiorra then closed his eyes as he nuzzled his neck into Orihime's.

"You keep her safe-"

The whispered words of Ichigo Kurosaki repeated themselves in his head as he felt the warmth from Orihime's body.

"You keep her safe, so she's there the day I come here and take her back from you"

"You are welcome to try, Ichigo Kurosaki"

"Ulquiorra?"

"You need to get inside, prisoners are not to be in such exposed areas.. a rescue attempt could be made"

His attempted joke made her laugh quietly as she went inside infront of him. She started smiling all over again as she walked into her bedroom and layed down on the soft bed.

"I think my rescue attempt has already been succesful"

She said to herself not thinking Ulquiorra was in ear-shot. He was, and did his understated little grin at her comment. He came into the room and stood at the edge of her bed, leaning against the bed post his chin titled upwards.

Orihime had made herself comfortable in her bed and was nestled beneath blankets and rested her head on the edges of atleast four different pillows. Her eyes were shutting slowly but she tried to keep them open as Ulquiorra began to speak.

"What do you suppose you would dream about now, or have you given up on the impossible?"

"I have to dream Ulquiorra.. for the both us and if I hadn't believed in the impossible I wouldn't be with you"

"You lost him today.. you fought so hard to be with him and yet you gave him up so easily"

She smiled a knowing grin which made Ulquiorra curious.

"What is it?" He stood up from his lazy posture and looked at her seriously. What did she need to reveal?

"Kurosaki-kun.. was never the quiet type"

"You heard"

"He knows i'm safe, besides.."

She sat upright for a moment biting her lip as she had a mischevious look on her face.

"He won't have to come here.."

Ulquiorra was now perplexed to a point where both his hands were out of his pockets and he was sitting on the edge of her bed. It was probably a good thing he was sitting down.

"Because were going home.. to Karakura town"


	20. Too Swift for the Fox

"A garganta?"

"Yes, the mode of transportation we will use to access the world of the living."

Orihime picked at her cuticles, not actually unnerved by them she just needed something to distract herself with. Something to keep focus on to keep her eyes from staring into his. She sat casually in a chair that was facing outwards from the small dining table.

Ulquiorra was pacing the floor of the kitchen. He looked to his surroundings also trying to keep his eyes from fixating on Orihime's.

Wall, plant, chair, rose, window, pretty girl.. shit, wall, floor, balcony, door, alluring lips, SHIT

"Orihime,"

Eye contact was made as his mouth opened slightly to let out her name in a effortless tone. It was almost natural to him now, to call the woman by her first name. To call her by the name everyone in Karakura Town knew her by.

"How will I ever remain, undetected, undisturbed in a town crawling with soul reapers and other beings bent on my destruction?"

"We'll hide"

Ulquiorra turned towards her in amusement although his expression was lacking all the playfulness that danced across Orihime's face.

"Is there a less, human plan?"

"You say it like it's a bad thing"

"Well your assumption is correct, humans aren't known for their infallible plans, just look at Kurosaki Ichigo's last endeavors"

"Kurosaki-kun is, is not here and not making the plan. You're following my rules!"

"As you are in my world still, I am your captor and you will follow my rules"

Orihime smiled awkwardly and blushed as she felt an odd sensation in her heart and down lower. There was something about his authority that stirred her emotionally and physically. She clenched her sides and got up off the chair. Making her way over to Ulquiorra who at this point had stopped with both hands in his pockets, looking at Orihime inquisitively.

"I must open the garganta soon, the others will know the circumstances of our situation soon enough"

Orihime nodded and walked out to the balcony looking back at Ulquiorra.

"I'm ready but when we arrive I know I'll be scared. But I think that fear, I can handle it, because being without you is a far more terrifying thought.."

Ulquiorra's emerald eyes widened at her sincerity. As she turned her ginger hair swayed lightly in the breeze. The motion would only be detectable by someone starring at the back of her head which Ulquiorra was doing, taking his eyes off her now terrified him. Knowing she could disappear from anywhere because they were enemies of both sides involved in this war.

Ulquiorra shifted his hands in his pockets and pushed in her chair, returning the room to an ountouched condition. He followed her out to the balcony and with the touch of his finger a deafening zip drew a line out of thin air. A mouth of black and grey shadows awaited the pair. Orihime was reluctant. She backed into Ulquiorra and he caught her by the elbows motioning her forward.

As they both stepped into the immense portal a series of knocks on the door startled them both.

The portal began to close as the door opened.

"Now aint this a sight worth seein" The smile stretched across his fox-like face as though the constant grin never taxed him.

"A traitor catching a traitor, Lord Aizen is gonna be demotin ya for this one"

"Ch"

"Ichimaru-sama?"

Ulquiorra blasted a cero from his finger, the electric green blast easily dodged by Gin. His avoidance of the attack was just long enough for the portal to finish closing completely and Orihime and Ulquiorra were gone from sight and retrieval.

"Always deliverin' the bad news! If only Tosen could see this stuff happenin"

Gin shut the door behind him and hummed to himself as he walked casually down the hall. His hands behind his back one set of fingers tapping against the knuckles of his other hand.

"Than again, I gotta feelin Lord Aizen saw this one comin, we all probably coulda"  



	21. Free Falling

How could a world untouched by light emit such an eerie glow? Orihime outstretched her slender foot, touching the ground toe-first. The bottomless abyss supported her. The feeling of rubbery asphalt gave a subtle spring to her step. It was as if this place was rushing you out of its domain as quickly as it could. And Orihime had no problem giving the haunting space its privacy.

"What is it?"

"How do you stand to be here. It's so empty, can't anything live here or grow here or exist?"

"Its own existence is all it cares for. The Garganta is a selfish being, not unlike yourself."

Orihime's cheeks rosined she took a deep breath hoping the oxygen would somehow get her brain to come up with a comeback, or at least an excuse.

"No need to get defensive. I'm here aren't I?"

He brushed by her, his lips tipped upwards into a smirk as he took her by the hand. Leading his blushing-bride to be down the nightmarish aisle.

Orihime had a fair skin but it amazed her to see how warm her hand looked against Ulquiorra's white grip. She followed his veins as they ended at the base of his fingers. In this simple moment she felt herself slipping into an almost forgotten state of being. This feeling felt similar to the time her brother had mistakenly gone after her as he fought for control of his soul. That night belonged to a different girl. One who relied on her friends to save her.

_I cannot take this for granted. I cannot let myself be coerced into giving this up. It is foolish to think I will live till the end of my days with this man. In fact I know it is his gaze I will meet when I leave this world. But in that transient flash of emerald I will be assured, it was all worth it._

"Orihime, why it is I have more faith in this plan than you do?"

Why wasn't the girl saying anything? Orihime stared at her waiting for an answer, feeling concerned for the stranger as a look of uncertainty flashed across her face. Her own face.

"I am sure everything will work out!"

Ulquiorra continued facing forward. This gave Orihime time to wipe the doubt from her nervous eyes and quit biting her lip.

"You are as unconvincing as ever, there is less believability to your tone than when you swore allegiance to Lord Aizen-sama."

"How do you know I wasn't faking it when I kissed you? Maybe I'm better at lying with my lips than you think."

With this remark Ulquiorra turned to look her up and down. He let his eyes rest on her just long enough for her to give him a questioning look.

"What?"

"You frighten me."

Orihime let out a childish giggle. She couldn't help but be entertained by the thought of someone feeling fear over her. Someone like Ulquiorra especially, who had experienced all of the horrors of death, misery and destruction firsthand. He embodied fear, but also hope. There must be a different life, an alternative for the arrancars of Las Noches. And it is through Orihime that the fourth espada will find this other choice.

There was a haziness to the painted walls at the end of the tunnel. Through it there were flashes of a blue so familiar and bright Orihime was now running ahead of Ulquiorra. He used his sonido to keep ahead of her and stood between her and the exit. He gave a tap on the seemingly liquid wall and the loud zipper noise overwhelmed the entire space. When the mouth of the Garganta was completely open Orihime looked at Ulquiorra, her face full of joy.

"I'll lead the way!"

Her authoritative yet eccentric tone led Ulquiorra to step aside and let the girl pass.

"I wouldn't advise it."

Orihime had had enough of Ulquiorra's superiority. She faced him, glowing with pride and maybe a hint of frustration.

"I am for once willing to take charge in a situation and you "_wouldn't advise it_". It's going to be me that leads us into Karakura Town, and it's going to be me that keeps you safe!"

With those last words of self-empowerment Orihime stepped out into the clear blue sky. The fresh air smelt and tasted so familiarly sweet she sighs softly.

_It's so light, this feeling of home._

Orihime's day dream lasts only a moment before she realizes she is plummeting through the air.

* * *

"Kisuke, they're here."

"Ah, yes. It would seem so."

"Benihime's Kamisori was rendered useless by him last time."

"Was it? I couldn't really recall."

"Not that surprising old man. So chances are you'll need my help."

"Yourichi-sama, I think they are the ones who need our help."

"We are experts at staying under the radar. They're going to need us to intervene if they hope to last the week."

"It would seem so."

"What are you thinking?"

"We'll give them that week."

"You don't trust the espada?"

"They've both got a lot to prove. And a week to do it."


	22. Third Time's a Charm

Shame is a feeling rarely felt my Orihime. It's made its star debut ever since beginning a relationship with the fourth espada. She played with the silver bracelet Ulquiorra had given her upon their first meeting. It wasn't a very romantic piece of jewelry but it was the first one he gave her so she would keep it despite its sinister origins. The couple passed by Orihime's school walking single file down the sidewalk. She heard him inhale to say something but turned around like a shot and shushed him before he even got a syllable out. He cocked his head to the side and let out a subtle laugh. She kept walking. Her once pristine uniform was completely ripped down the front so she was now wearing a refashioned housecoat of her previous attire. Ulquiorra ignoring her insistence on the situation being forgotten felt the need to remind her of his necessity to the fearless fighter of Karakura Town.

"Now that rip was certainly not all my doing."

"Yes well, Kurosaki-kun would have managed to save me _and_ my clothing."

"Well the boy doesn't know what he's missing out on."

"You are unbelievable."

"It _is_ hard to grasp the bravery it took for me to rescue you from you're fleeting entrance into the world of the living."

* * *

Orihime was flailing her limbs around trying to create some sort of structure for herself in the air. Nothing lasted longer than a moment before the pressure of her fall contorted her body into another useless position. If she could just get her Santan Kesshun working she could save herself. But opportunities were flying out the door just as she had. She forced her eyes open seeing if the only liable option to save her was on his way.

"What the hell?"

The words got caught in her throat but she still made an audible complaint, at least one he probably made out.

Ulquiorra stood in the sky looking down at the woman his arms folded into his chest. The bastard actually started whistling as he looked up to the sky after hearing her discontent with his decision to "let her handle this one".

She tried to turn her neck to see how close she was to the ground but it was no use. She contemplated saying her last words. She didn't want soul society thinking her previous statement was a location request. Suddenly either a bird or great idea hit her. She deeply inhaled, air was quite plentiful at the moment, and yelled out the one thing that could get a response from him.

"Kurosaki-kun!"

Like the intricate ticking of jealous clockwork Ulquiorra had Orihime in his arms as they landed on the roof of her favourite cake shop. A much more desirable location than hell. The couple was standing facing each other, Orihime's legs buckling but his supportive grip on her arms kept her up right.

"So predictable."

She laughed into his chest as grabbing tightly onto his uniform. She twisted the fabric in her hands her head resting against him. A hand that she did not see rose to stroke her hair but he quickly pulled it away as she looked up again. Orihime went to take a step back. A step she could not afford to take for her left foot was now sliding off the edge of the roof. Ulquiorra went to get his hands out of his pockets but his sleeve got caught on the hilt of his zanpaktou. He pulled at it furiously and in the swiftness of his actions he managed to reach her before she went over the edge. His hand grabbed onto the collar of her dress. A terrible ripping noise made its way all the way down to her ankles as she fell to her doom. Gravity may be a bigger threat to Orihime than suffocation, Rangiku should take note. This time she let out a blood curdling scream giving up on wit with so little time before the concrete caught her. This time Ulquiorra came to her aid without the necessity of bait.

"My dress!"

"Paid the price for your-"

His eyes lingered on her far longer than either of them anticipated.

"Clumsiness."

She covered herself as best she could with her arms but you'd need Omaeda size hands to cover Orihime's chest. Like he would ever get such an opportunity. The espada shifted his weight slightly and turned around, suddenly very interested in the storefront of the cake shop. Flashes of images from the magazines he had confiscated from Nnoitora's quarters came to mind. Maybe the fifth espada had been onto something…

"Orihime, we need to find you new clothing."

"Y-yes, but first-"

"You may be comfortable in such a.. liberating outfit but I don't think it would be.. best for our focus.. my focus on the task at hand.. of returning you to Karakura town. It's impotent-portant that you find something to wear that's not so distracting… to the seriousness of the situation"

"ULQUIORRA!"

He turned his head to see Orihime being ogled by dozens of curious teenage boys who had happened to be in the nearby shops and making their way down the street. It seems in her second near death experience the bracelet that had made her invisible to humans had come off. Orihime Inoue was now half naked in public with no one to save her but her invisible partner with jealousy issues.

* * *

"Yo baby what time does the rest of you open?"

"Hey isn't that Inoue from school?"

"Does the carpet match the drapes!"

Humiliation could be added to the new sentiments associated with their relationship. Orihime ran for her beloved cake store but one look from the owner in the doorway left her hopeless. She would never be allowed their chocolate cheesecake with soy sauce filling again, her requested addition, if she went in now. She may still be granted delivery privileges if she kept them out of this. Ulquiorra grabbed her wrist and pulled her along quite forcefully. Boys were mysteriously pushed to the side, also quite forcefully, as Orihime made her way down the street. Once they made their way out of the perilous sea of perverted witnesses Ulquiorra used his sonido to save the princess for a third time.

They were in an alley at least four blocks from the incident. An increase in his spiritual power increased the distance he could travel. One step and the crowd were out of earshot and safe from getting their heads shot.

"I was figuring a way out of it."

"I found this while you contemplated assistance from the baker."

Ulquiorra handed her the silver bracelet and she slid it back onto her wrist. She looked at him still unclothed, contemplating a way of repaying him for helping her three times now. Her idea for paying him back was quite different from the way she had ever considered thanking Kurosaki-kun.

"Well, I suppose I may as well get changed at home."

"How far is it?"

"It's certainly not down there!"

"Ch."

My god had he really never seen a pair of breasts before? He was overcome with embarrassment, tempted to break both eyes just to keep from any further perversion on his part. He was the fourth espada! He was the embodiment of emptiness! But all he could focus on was the plentiful body of Orihime Inoue.

"I know a shortcut we can take that goes by my school."

"So I can witness the source of your complete lack of common sense?"

"Shut up!"

"Don't be so touchy."

_You don't want him to touch you. You don't want him to touch you. You don't want him not to touch you. _

"You walk behind me."

Oh god who was she kidding? She was repaying him by parading around half naked! This was not the kind of girl Orihime was. She quickly regretted her decision to repay Ulquiorra with such a provocative preseant. The only kind of person that would support this kind of gift giving would be Rangiku, and that was only because she possesed the body of a goddess and the mind of every man after set sacred temple. Orihime was feeling shameful, feeling dirty, feeling excited. And that last one was only because as she turned to walk home she could feel Ulquiorra's eyes glued to her every move.


	23. Changing Souls

"So this is where your powers were first tested?"

Ulquiorra looks around the schoolyard. Trying to imagine Orihime using her Shun Shun Rikka to save her friends. Recreating the scene isn't hard at all. He can grasp her generosity quite easily.

Orihime turns around to answer his question.

He can grasp her generosity a little too easily.

"A lot was tested that day. Tatsuki was always the one to protect me. And for me to fight for her. It felt so good to finally pay her back, to finally show her with my blood and sweat and the conquering of my fear how far I'd be willing to go to protect her."

Her eyes slightly blurring. Her voice only audible to her inner thoughts. She smiles at Ulquiorra.

_It's a nice feeling to have again_.

"So there was a time in your life where you were on the offence?" Ulquiorra says turning her around and ushering her forward with his hand pressed firmly against her lower back.

Orihime feels the heat rise in her cheeks. She stays turned around as to not reveal anything to the espada. I mean breasts are one thing, but flushed cheeks at his touch? Ulquiorra would realize, if he hadn't already, how much his hands affect her. The places they take her...Hueco Mundo, Las Noches, A prison cell, a second prison cell, multiple balconies, Karakura town and now they're pushing her towards her house. Where they lead her when they get there, she can't be sure.

"When we were fighting Soul Society."

"Ah yes, Aizen told us of your daring rescue."

"Although, now that I think about it, I was more of a healer than a help fighting wise. But I did get to ride on Captain Zaraki Kenpachi's back! Which takes some guts." Orihime says flexing her left arm out to the side.

"You..rode..on..his back? A captain's back?"

"It's a surprisingly efficient way to travel! Though I don't know how many of them are actually big and strong enough to do it. Captain Komamura might... or would that be considered animal cruelty..hmmm..maybe with a sled and harness.."

"So you were enemies with Soul Society?"

"At a time, yes."

"And now they are your allies?"

Feeling the rouging of her cheeks has subsided enough to be seen, Orihime peaks at Ulquiorra over her shoulder.

"It's not as new a concept to me as you might think."

Ulquiorra looks at the ground unable to hold the look of her playful grey eyes.

"Well it is to me. This entire plan of yours is conceptual at best. I don't know how you can believe that they're going to leave us alone. That man with the hat and sandals is probably already onto us. Aizen will not just let me leave with some woman."

Ulquiorra resumes eye contact.

"No matter how much she has changed me."

Orihime nods, understanding his distrust in her plan.

"We'll get to my house and talk about it there."

"Why not now-"

"I want you to meet someone first. And then I'll figure out how we are going to stay together."

Ulquiorra starts to say something but stops himself. It's a glimpse of Orihime on the offence. Of taking control of her life. And ever since he gave her that ultimatum in the Dangai he's wanted her to fight for herself. He knows her willingness to help others, he's continually reminded of it. But for Orihime to do something for her own benefit. To make a decision because it's what she wants. Ulquiorra only hopes that's why she's brought him to the world of the living. That it's not just because she's figured out he wants her. This woman that can make him momentarily forget the gaping hole beneath his throat. This woman that has changed him is here because she wants him, maybe even needs him, for herself. It alarms and excites him to think of Orihime being capable of independence so new to her.

* * *

"Just give me a minute, I have to get changed!"

Ulquiorra sits patiently on Orihime's couch looking over her living room with fascination. These are the living quarters of a human. Oddly spacious for only one woman.

"Alright, Ulquiorra."

The espada looks at Orihime in the doorway. She wears a white summer lace dress. It ends just above her knees and is belted at the waist. Emeralds decorate the belt. Ulquiorra's widened eyes are mirrored in their every angular prism.

Orihime tucks her lengthy orange hair behind her ears, holding her hairclips in her hand. She motions for Ulquiorra forward. The pair stand in front of a small shrine set up in the corner of the living room. A picture of her brother sits between a candle and two burning incents. She places the hairclips in front of his smiling face captured eternally behind the frame's glass.

"This is my brother, Sora."

Orihime grabs a small matchbox from a nearby shelf. She strikes one of the matches than hands it to Ulquiorra.

"You should light the candle." Orihime says smiling.

Ulquiorra nods and lights it with a delicate touch than waves the flame out. Orihime brings over two pillows for her and Ulquiorra to kneel on. Both take their seats respectively keeping their eyes on Sora and not on each other.

"Hi Sora. It's me."

Orihime bows her head looking at her hands cupped tightly in her lap. She raises them in front of her face, flat together to pray for her brother's understanding.

"You probably didn't recognize me right away. I've changed a lot since we last spoke. In ways I probably can't even fully comprehend right now. What I do know has happened to me, for sure, with all my heart I know it, is I have met the man that will help me get through the hardest time of my life. So when you're up there watching me, have eyes on him too. Watch us both with concern, with patience and with love."

Orihime peaks at Ulquiorra through her hair.

"Sora, meet Ulquiorra Schiffer. The man making your little sister _literally_ fall for him."

The sunlight drops through Orihime's window onto the kneeling couple. They shield their eyes from the day's reminder of its approaching end.

"We should get you some clothes before it gets dark."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Ulquiorra asks defensively.

"Well, if Aizen and the espada are going to come after us, we need to at least disguise you from the neck down." She says smiling.

Ulquiorra mutters something under his breath. His request is inaudible to Orihime.

"What was that?"

"Something green." He says too embarrassed to look at her.

"Are you suggesting colour co-ordinating?"

"No..I..woman if you're going to tease me.."

"No way! I'm going to go grab my wallet before you change your mind!"

Orihime runs to her bedroom. Ulquiorra is left alone with Sora.

He looks at the picture as if it were her actual brother, alive and in person, standing before him.

"I will always catch her. No matter how many times she falls. Her feet will never touch the ground again. I will break every bone in my body to break her fall. Orihime will not know pain. I will make sure of it."

Ulquiorra can't bring himself to raise his hands in prayer as he says the words but he does grasp at the hole in the chest. Hoping, just for a second, it had somehow started to regenerate with his soul.


End file.
